Background Noise
by spoiledpuppy
Summary: Hinata didn't intend on being married off when she told her father she wanted a vacation, but maybe it was only a push in the right direction.
1. Boy by the Water

**Background Noise**

Coupling: Sasuke/Hinata/Hitsugaya

Dedicated to: Raesigns, the crazy person who got me into crack couples .

Summary: Hinata didn't intend on being married off when she told her father she wanted a vacation, but maybe it was only a push in the right direction. HitsuxHinataxSasu

A.N./ Since I got so much positive feedback on my other terrible HH crack story I decided to write another one, since the attempted sequel I tried was a bust. XD This is something that has been cooking for awhile in my skull so I hope you guys like it, it's based off a drawing I did about a year ago.

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1

The ferryman looked over at the sighing girl in his boat. She'd been staring at the water ever since she got in. Her radiant, violet hair caught his attention immediately—but her eyes—

He felt the same shivers he had earlier upon looking at the pale lavender irises. She was a regular beauty, not even a doll came close to her perfection. He knew he had no chance with her but still he tried to strike up a conversation.

His attempts, though, met only with silence. Her eyes had never trailed up to his and she preferred looking down than enjoying his company. He lifted a hand to his chin, alright so he wasn't the most strapping man around but was he such poor company that she couldn't bear even to talk to him? But after hearing a sigh from her, again, he changed his mind, deciding that she was probably depressed about something. Maybe her family died, or she lost her dog, or she was being sold to a—

"How far are we from shore?" A soft voice asked, it took the man a moment to realize the beauty in the boat had been the one to speak.

"Oh!" He paused in his rowing to look up; the island they were approaching was much closer now. "I'd say in twenty minutes you'll be on solid ground." The lavender eyed beauty finally looked up at him, her eyes darting quickly to the approaching landmass. Surprisingly, her pretty face twisted into a grimace and she turned her attention back to the water. One of her fingers dared to breach the cool surface.

The ferryman felt like sighing now, were all angels this hard to please?

-O-

Hinata felt like jumping from the boat if only to delay arriving that much later. Her finger swirled in the water as she thought. She had been hoping for a break from home, the tension between her and her relatives was so strong she felt one of them might snap her neck if she so much as sneezed! Being an heiress was, as one of her friends would often put it, very troublesome. Her cousins were always watching her every move to point out every mistake she ever made as if that determined how much of a failure she was, while her father kept stacking more and more pressure on her when it came to her studies, all the while giving her more and more letters from hopeful boys who wanted to court her.

At this point she was about to tear her hair from their roots! She let a sigh slip out and pulled her finger from the icy recesses it was playing in to let it drip dry on the edge of the small wooden boat. If only she could be allowed to love who she wanted, but the last boy she liked- a golden haired troublemaker- had been taken by a pink-haired, doctor's apprentice in town. It was so sudden, she still suspected her father of having a hand in it, but they seemed happy together anyway. Hinata stared at her reflection in the water.

That didn't stop her from liking him though. But it did show her how much her life was controlled by her family.

At times, she thought that she'd gladly hand the mantle to her little sister, Hanabi, but she had been working too hard for too long, it would put to waste all the tears she had shed over the years, all her work…

Hanabi would be better suited to be the heir anyway, she was much more talented than Hinata, and even her father could see that. The only probable reason he hadn't already stripped her of her status was because she was old enough to marry to a rich boy whose family could add to the Hyuuga's power.

If only she'd kept her mouth shut, Hinata moaned in her head, why did she have to say that she wanted to go on a trip? She suspected her father was up to something when he agreed so quickly, but how could she have known that he was planning to ship her to another country?

'_They're a very well known clan'_, she remembered her maid saying cheerfully as she packed her horrified mistress' luggage, _'I hear the Uchiha are well known for their looks!'_ If the ferryman weren't already staring at her like she was going to commit suicide she'd sigh again.

So far she had spent two days in a carriage and one day waiting for a boat to take her to the island where the Uchiha mansion was located. Not including the hour spent sitting in said boat. If she had to sit any longer Hinata figured her butt would turn into wood too! Thank goodness her maid didn't come along or else she'd be talking her ear off about how great this boy was, no doubt her salary had been raised for her to act like that. The only reason the maid hadn't come on the boat with her was because she caught a cold while they were waiting yesterday and wouldn't be able to come until she had fully recovered.

Thank goodness, her praise of people they'd never even met was getting annoying.

They were close enough now that even with her head tilted down she could see the island's docks from her peripheral. A man called out to them and tossed a rope out to the ferryman. When they got close enough they began tying the vessel to a post to keep it from bobbing away.

Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer Hinata stood up and began to collect her luggage.

"Let me take that, ma'am." The dock man said, holding out a beefy hand. Hinata nodded and held it out for him. It was then she first noticed a strange, white haired boy sitting on the edge of the platform. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to her and she was glad he wasn't because that meant he didn't notice her gawking at him.

He was wearing the oddest clothing, a baggy sleeveless coat over a black layer of clothing she didn't even know how to begin to describe, maybe as a robe? His pants were baggy and made him seem even more childish as they hung over the water. His sandals, worn over a pair of white - socks? – peeked out of the bottom of his baggy clothing. She wondered if his hair was naturally that shade, she knew of a couple girls who had their hair dyed but… His skin was remarkably tan for his hair color and as she stared his eyes flicked to her. They were blue-green like an iridescent emerald. Realizing how rude she was being Hinata quickly looked away.

"You alright ma'am?" The dock man asked, interrupting her flustered thoughts.

"Y-yes, I'm fine!" She stuttered, knowing her face was probably flushed she let herself be aided out of the boat, trying to keep her bangs hung over her eyes.

"Something bothering you?" He continued, "You were just staring into space like that…" Hinata didn't pay any attention to what he was saying, still thinking about her lapse in manners. While she was busy berating herself a man cleared his throat. She turned to come face to face with another strange person. He was a droopy eyed man in his mid to late 30s with long off-white hair sticking up. The lower half of his face was wrapped up with a dark gray scarf that almost drew one's attention away from the eye patch covering his left eye. His suit was a tight cut on his figure, though he shuffled on his feet as if it bothered him to wear it. In one hand he held a crinkled, dirty paper that his one eye was studying.

"Are you Miss 'Hugah'?" He pronounced uncertainly, apparently unable to read the page.

"Hyuuga." Hinata corrected, the man blinked and looked back at the paper. He turned his gaze back to her and nonchalantly rolled the already ruined paper into a wad and tossed it over one shoulder.

"Right, Miss Hyuuga, I'm here to take you to the estate… where's your escort?" He asked as he took her bags from the dock man.

Realizing how shameful, not to mention trashy, she'd be thought of if she didn't have one Hinata waved her hands quickly in front of her. "S-she caught a cold and couldn't come on the boat today. She should be alright tomorrow or the next day though, I should hope!" The droopy eyed man eyed her hand signals quietly as if he was trying to figure out her odd behavior.

"Ok. Let's get going." She let out a relieved breath and hurried her pace to try to keep up with his long strides. It wasn't until that moment that Hinata remembered the strange boy who had been sitting next to the water. As they stepped off the docks she snuck a daring peek over her shoulder.

Except for the dock and ferry men, there was no one else there. She paused mid-step, her eyes glued on where she had seen the boy earlier.

"Odd." She mumbled to herself, where had he gone? The droopy eyed man stopped to look back at her.

"What is?"

Hinata eyed the spot for a moment, "Nothing, just my imagination playing tricks on me again." She replied coolly as they continued to a waiting carriage.

-O-

She glanced up from under her lashes up at the man; he seemed to be too interested in his book to notice her attention, luckily. Hinata wasn't sure what to think of his reading material, she could tell from the cover it was less than appropriate. She turned her attention to the window, watching the countryside roll by made her feel slightly homesick.

Hinata wondered if they were any closer to the estate, she hoped so. If she had to sit for one more hour then she'd probably go stir crazy. She was just about to sigh, again, when the whole carriage jolted erratically and began to shake. The man in the carriage with her dropped his book and stuck his head out.

"What's wrong?" He asked the man at the reins. Hinata could see him from her seat, getting down to check something. He tisked angrily and tossed something into the bushes.

"Ran over a rock, nasty thing broke the wheel." Curious, Hinata leaned forward to see what they were doing. She could see from her seat the driver was holding a piece of wood, probably from the broken wheel, and toss it toward the side of the road.

The droopy eyed man turned around to address her and she straightened immediately, "Come on, we better start walking." After half-heartedly climbing out she stared down the road they were on. It was actually a small hill they were stranded on with them at the bottom; she'd have to walk over hills? Seriously, he was going to make her walk all the way?

Seeming to notice her reaction he continued, "We're almost there actually; it's just five minutes away by foot." He grabbed her bags and, without another word to her, started ambling down the road.

Hinata stared at him for a moment before hurrying to catch up. Well, she was getting tired of sitting. Like he said, the estate was close. They just barely made it to the top of the hill when she noticed the large mansion looming ahead.

Its wooden exterior was painted white and the whole main building was surrounded by lush vegetation that almost blended it into the surroundings. From where they were Hinata could see a large garden behind the building and even though she hadn't wanted to come in the first place she really wanted to explore it later.

As they got closer, however, she couldn't help but feel that something was off though she couldn't figure out why. When they reached a small fence that surrounded the front of the mansion, the man led her toward a latched gate. He shifted her bags to pull on a string by the latch and not a minute later the front door was whipped open.

"Kakashi, what took you so long?" Hinata couldn't stop herself from staring at the woman. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of her neck, her face was twisted in fury, a knife gleaming in her hand that was covered in blood— the young heiress was starting to feel faint.

"Hey, Tsunade, could you get someone to go help Asuma? The wheel on the carriage broke on the way here."

"Don't 'Hey Tsunade' me! What do you mean it broke?" Spotting Hinata standing next to him she started waving the knife sporadically, making little droplets of blood fly in the air. "Did you make her walk all the way here? She's our guest you idiot!"

The man, Kakashi, looked at the girl beside him, "Let's go inside and have your things put in your room." He said, sidestepping the raving blond woman in the doorway. As they passed the woman grumbled and walked outside, much to Hinata's relief. Even inside, the strange feeling that there was something strange here persisted, she couldn't shake it at all.

Her lavender eyes examined the lobby; lighter tones seemed to be the theme. The walls were white and in the marble tile under her feet she could see her reflection. A solitary vase stood in one corner beside a tall, black grandfather clock.

Its face was strange, instead of a creamy white color it was a dark red and each hour had a dot instead of a number. All except for the place for the sixth hour, the bottom half was painted black in a small arc to match the wood the clock was made of. The hour and minute hands were metal and pointed on the ends.

_What strange taste_, she thought. It didn't match the rest of the furniture in the room- everything else was made of oak or cedar wood.

Kakashi found a maid and instructed her to bring the heiress to the room she'd be staying in during her visit. The maid took the luggage from the man but as she began walking out of the lobby Hinata hesitated, looking back at the man who led her here. She stopped mid-step and held her hands in front of her dress curtsying slightly to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Kakashi." He seemed speechless for a moment and then raised his hand to wave at her lazily. Taking that as a 'no problem' she turned around to follow the maid…

Who was no longer standing at the doorway.

"Might want to hurry up," She heard Kakashi tell her, Hinata looked over her shoulder to see him pull his book from inside his vest, "Kaede won't show you where your room is twice, and she_ hates_ people who dawdle." Hinata stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was messing with her or not, before hurrying from the room.

The room she was in now was much larger, but Hinata wasn't sure if it could be called a sitting room or a living room, it was hard to tell. She spotted the maid's skirt flutter out of sight near the top of a grand staircase ahead of her and grimaced. Kakashi wasn't kidding about the maid's personality; she didn't seem to like to dawdle herself.

Hinata hurried up the flight of stairs with one hand on the wooden banister, until she reached the top. A large portrait greeted her at the top, but she wasn't looking at that at the moment. The staircase split into two hallways at that landing, one going to the left and the other going to the right. The heiress began walking down the side she'd seen the maid, hoping that the girl wasn't too far ahead. About a minute of walking down the hall she came to another flight of stairs. Hinata eyed the steps reluctantly before going up them. How far in was her room anyway?

Her eyes trailed over the doors as passed them. The odd feeling was catching up to her. Where was everyone? Even at the family estate she'd see their servants all over the place. And why wasn't there anyone to greet her when she arrived with Kakashi? They were obviously expecting her, but still, neither her potential suitor nor his parents came out to welcome her. How odd.

Hinata really didn't know much about the Uchiha clan, she'd heard of them, sure, but other than occasional mention of their business transactions… nothing.

"About time you got here."

Hinata stopped and looked around, she was currently at a cross-section of hallways, to her right stood an irritated girl with raven black hair pulled back into a bun. Her plain, black uniform reached down to her knees. It didn't have a white apron like the maids at home and it looked more like a witches' dress than a maid's attire. The only thing that hinted at her occupation was a plain white ribbon tied around the collar of the outfit.

"Kaede, right?" The violet haired girl found herself verifying. The girl's eye twitched at her name but she didn't reply. Hinata took that as a yes and joined her by the open door.

"You'll be staying here." Kaede told her as she looked in, the maid had placed the luggage by the bed inside, Hinata noticed, "I am assigned to babysit you, don't mess the room up too much." Without another word the maid swept by Hinata, leaving a gaping hole behind as she turned the corner.

Hinata stared at the corner of the hallway before entering her room, "Thank you." She said to the door as it clicked shut.

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Gah, angsty end is angsty. DX I hope you guys appreciate the feeling I'm going fer here. XD Anyway, We got Hitsugaya in here a little bit. So, yay! ;w; I wonder if anyone recognizes the maid from another story of mine… she's a good girl, really! D; She's just being a jerk at the moment, don't hate her. Lol.


	2. Breezes

**Background Noise**

A.N./ Kaede's rudeness bugs meh… ._. Wroaaar Peeeeko—I mean Kaeeedeee! DX Be nice!

Also, thanks so much for the review **Shiko Isihamaru**, and I plan to try updating _at least_ once a week unless something comes up. o_o; But yeah it's likely I'll update whenever I have a chapter ready. xD I get impatient and can't wait for more than a day to upload when I finish one lol. I really appreciate so many people adding this story to their alerts, but plz, even if you can't think of anything to comment about **please leave a review**. I get really nervous about writing on this site when I don't get much feedback. ;_; It's not a ('I want lotsa reviews so I get more readers'), thing, it's a ('no one is reviewing, do they really like it, should I stop writing') thing ;_;. Even a 'keep up the good work spoiled-sama' would make me so happy and write more and better stuff for you guys. D': (( I'm the overly nervous type lol ))

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**2**

No matter how lovely the estate was, Hinata reflected as she looked out the window, being stuck there for two weeks was unpleasant. Especially when the only people one sees are a rude maid, a perverted butler (is that what he was supposed to be?), and a blood covered woman who liked to wave knifes at people, not counting the carriage driver from earlier. He seemed somewhat normal however brief their encounter was.

She couldn't see the garden from her window, but she did have a nice view of the woods and an empty bird nest. She hadn't seen any birds in it yet, maybe they were finches or cardinals? It was already nighttime, so maybe the nest was just empty all the time. She rested her chin in her hand, watching the dark sky silently. The stars certainly were pretty.

Earlier the heiress had unpacked her bags, both enjoying and disliking the silence in her room. She couldn't explain why she felt so contradictory about it; maybe it was because she was all alone? Who would have known she'd miss her chatty, nosey maid Chitose?

A quiet knocking on the door echoed in the still room. Hinata unconsciously straightened in her chair, placing her hands in her lap, "Come in." The door swung open, hissing on its hinges.

"Miss, it's almost time for—why is it so dark in here?" Kaede, the maid here at the Uchiha manor, was just a silhouette against the bright hallway. The sudden light made Hinata's eyes sting causing her to look away.

After a moment of thinking of what to say she replied, "I never thought to turn them on."

"What do you mean you never thought about turning them on?" Kaede barked at her, her silhouette crossing into the darkness. Hinata turned her head toward the general direction of the maid's voice. She heard a squeaking noise as the lamps for her room were switched on. Kaede stood at the other end of the room, her hand resting on the gas knob for the lights.

Hinata looked at Kaede's position relative to the gas lamps on the wall. She was a good four feet from the nearest one…

"How did you light the lamps all the way from there?" At home they also had lamps that ran on gas but they had to use a striker to light them one by one.

Kaede didn't seem surprised by her confusion and pointed at the fixture's flames. "There's a striker of sorts built in the exhaust hole on the fixtures," She gestured to the gas knob beside her, "They're activated by a switch that's turned on when the knob is twisted all the way. I don't know all the specifics myself, but that's the gist of it. At least, that was as much as I could follow when they were first installed." Hinata blinked and tried to picture it, it was hard to believe that such things were possible. She'd never heard of such a thing before.

"Like I was saying, dinner will be ready soon. Unless you can find your own way downstairs you should come with me." Without waiting for a reply Kaede turned and headed for the door. The heiress jumped from her chair since she already knew she'd get lost if she didn't go with her. Though Kaede walked fast Hinata was able to keep up with her unlike earlier.

As they descended a flight of stairs Hinata remembered something she had noticed earlier, "Where are all the servants?" Kaede looked over her shoulder at her, "I mean, this place is so empty and quiet. I've never been to an household where they were absent like this."

"…Mister Uchiha values silence and sees excessive staff as an _inconvenience_ when it only takes a few people to keep a household pristine."

"Oh." The silence fell between them again the rest of the way to the dining hall. The whole house had the same color scheme as the lobby, Hinata noticed, her eyes lingering over some of the paintings on the wall.

The maid finally stopped by a pair of large double doors, opening one and stepping in.

"Sir, I brought Miss Hyuuga with me." Hinata heard her say. She came up behind the bowing Kaede to see in.

The dining room was decorated in a similar manner as the rest of the mansion, white walls but decorated with a few paintings and the odd vase or plant set against them. An unlit hearth at the end of one room was made of a white stone with a figurine and several candelabra decorating it. The table was longer than the one back home, perfectly fitting in the center of the large room. And despite all of the placing's, only one chair at the end was currently occupied.

A young man with hair as black as ink and lightly tanned skin glanced up at them from a thin book he held in his hand. Hinata could see that everything Chitose had been gushing about the Uchiha looks was accurate. She had to admit that he was handsome despite his scowl. He quietly examined them for a moment and she resisted the urge to fidget.

"That will be all, Kaede." He said, closing the book and setting it aside, finally looking away from her, much to her relief. The maid immediately left Hinata's side to stand by the wall in case she was needed despite what he had just told her. He didn't seem to care as he turned his attention back to Hinata. Much to her discomfort he just stared at her again.

"Hello," She looked at the floor, "I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata. It's nice to meet you."

"Uchiha Sasuke." His response was half-hearted. The paranoia from before slowly crept up on her again as she sat three whole chairs away from him for personal and propriety reasons. Personal, because even if it wasn't improper to sit next to him she still wouldn't want to be next to him. She glanced at the empty chairs. At hers and other clan's homes she'd been forced to visit over the years, the table would be full or greatly occupied by the family of the house.

The reduced staff began bringing in trays laden with their dinner. She could smell the steak before it was even set down in front of her. Hinata hadn't even realized how hungry she was until that point. When they began eating she glanced at Sasuke from under her lashes.

"Where's the rest of your family?"

His fingers twitched, hesitating in their cutting of the delicious looking meat. The moment passed and he continued as if he hadn't stopped in the first place.

"They've passed on," He explained easily like he was telling her the sky was blue, "They were killed eight years ago."

She felt her face flush and looked away, "I'm sorry to hear that." What was wrong with her today, her manners were just getting worse and worse!

"You don't need to feel that way, you didn't know. Go on, eat your dinner." Sasuke gestured to her plate, "The cook outdid herself."

He was right, it was really delicious. From that point even though they didn't speak the air felt lighter, but Hinata could have sworn that he was observing her as she ate. Whenever she checked he was always looking at his plate or addressing one of his staff. Deciding not to pay any more attention to her odd paranoia after dinner she smiled and thanked him for his hospitality. His face was carefully blank but she didn't even let that affect her.

Hinata was leaving the room right behind Kaede and felt a strange chill on her spine, looking back she could see him turning away to face the opposite wall. For a moment… it seemed as if he was smirking.

She remembered her resolution and shook the encroaching dread off.

"You're… different from what I expected." It took Hinata a moment to realize it was Kaede who was speaking to her.

"Different how?"

Kaede scanned her silently and looked back to the stairs they were climbing, "You're sincere, polite, and nice- not at all like other pampered girls." Hinata didn't know how to reply to that so she didn't. The maid led her to her door, opening it slightly for her. An awkward smile on her lips as she chuckled, "When you have snotty girls dropping in all the time you start thinking every person coming to visit is like that."

Hinata blinked, was she apologizing? It was hard to tell. She found herself smiling softly back at her. "I understand. 'Dropping in'?"

Kaede nodded, "Yeah, they're always coming by to try to flirt with Sasuke. Most of the time we shoo them away or tell them he's not in." She tilted her head in thought, her face twisted into a grimace.

"That sounds… unpleasant." The maid nodded vigorously at her, proclaiming about how annoying it was. Hinata soon found herself giggling at the girl's frustrated arm waving. Too bad her maid Chitose would be joining her tomorrow, Hinata sighed after the maid had left, she'd miss having Kaede around so much.

-V-

He snapped open the Denreishinki. No signal. His white haori drifted in the breeze. The captain looked at the countryside below him; his vantage point on the tree had yielded no landmarks he recognized. What was this place?

Where was it?

Toushiro hadn't seen a single car, no wandering souls, no modern technology that he was familiar with that was everywhere in the living world. He hadn't been able to contact the soul society since he had woken up in this place. The last thing he remembered was investigating reports of the disappearances of rookie shinigami. Perhaps the only blessing he had was that Hyōrinmaru was still tied on its sash when he awoke.

The young captain was pondering over his situation when he snapped his head to the North-West. All around him he could feel a suction of energy. Turning his attention to the foliage around him he noted that nothing seemed to move at all even though he could feel it pulling at him. It didn't feel like a spirit pressure or a hollow. He didn't know what to call it.

He leapt from his perch in the tree to the ground, sprinting through the darkness toward the source of the flux. Within moments of starting the energy dissipated but he continued in the direction he had felt it originating from, certain that it had something to do with his appearance in this place.

-V-

"Miss Hyuuga!" An insistent knocking on her door disturbed her sleep. Groggy, she sat up, clutching her pillow like a stuffed animal.

"Yes?" The sleepy girl's eyes fixed straight ahead.

"It's morning! Get up!" Kaede called through the wood.

Hinata blinked lazily, "…'kay." The girl flopped back onto the warm mattress, the pillow still held possessively in her arms.

"I heard that! Get up!" Ignoring the yelling was easy, so was the clicking door.

What she couldn't ignore was said maid jumping onto the bed right on top of her. She yelped and wiggled under the weight.

"I'm not getting off until you promise not to go back to sleep." Kaede stated as Hinata tried to knock her from her position on her midsection. She eventually gave in to the maid's demands and was relieved when the maid stood up. As if trying to keep the girl to her promise, Kaede crossed her arms and began talking as the heiress blinked the dust from her eyes and yawned.

"What'd you say?" Hinata asked after she had stood, still holding her pillow with one arm, "I didn't catch it." Kaede grimaced as the girl yawned again.

"Are you always this lazy in the morning?"

Hinata, still half asleep, made her way to the dresser. "Not usually, no." Kaede walked over to join her, prying the pillow from her grasp, much to Hinata's displeasure.

"What, did you not get enough sleep last night?" The maid turned to start straightening the bed sheets as Hinata opened a drawer thoughtfully.

"I had a strange dream."

Kaede continued to sort out bundled up sheets, "Apparently! Sheesh, how did you get these into a ball like this? What was it about?" She continued to grumble to herself as she tried to untangle the mass of fabric.

Hinata paused, her fingers lingering over a blouse. "I don't even remember anymore." Having made headway in her task, the dark haired maid huffed.

"Must not have been important."

"I guess." The lavender eyed girl pulled out the blouse her fingers had stopped over.

-O-

Hinata looked at the empty chairs next to her. "Does he not attend breakfast normally?" She directed her question toward Kaede but Kakashi, who had just set out her breakfast, turned to her.

"Sometimes, but last night he was up late working. He probably won't wake up for another hour." The Hyuuga blinked.

"What does he do that keeps him up so late?"

"Oh, you know," Kakashi slowly walked back to the kitchen, "Tax collection, contracts, managing businesses he owns, and all the same things you learned how to do when you were growing up."

_How would he know what I used to study_, she wondered. Her fields of study she'd been instructed in were business management, etiquette, law, and other criteria deemed necessary for a future head to know. Lately, however, her studies had started taking a turn into a household field. Further solidifying her proof that her father was trying to marry her off the first chance he got.

She was almost done eating when Kaede walked over to her, "I have to start my chores now," With an apologetic smile she continued, "I hope you can keep yourself entertained."

Hinata smiled up at her, "That's fine. I noticed a garden in the back yesterday, would it be alright if…?"

"Sure!" The maid laughed, "As long as you don't step on the flowers no one cares if you're back there. I sometimes spend my breaks there, too. You should check out the azaleas," She suggested on her way out of the room, "They're really pretty this time of year."

After another of the scarce staff, the scary blond, had come to clear her dishes Hinata started wandering around the building, wondering where a door to the garden was. Fearing that she'd get lost if she kept walking aimlessly, Hinata made her way back to the lobby. She remembered seeing a little path around the manor when she first arrived, deciding to walk around to the garden from the front. Maybe she'd find the backdoor, if there was one, when she was there.

Passing through the lobby her eyes were drawn to the strange clock again. It looked almost like a fan if you looked at it from the right angle... Hinata felt a shiver looking at it and hastily ducked out the front door and began following the path around the mansion. Maybe it was something about this sea air that was making her so jittery? This island was small so there was only one village located on it, and a tiny one at that. The Uchiha family owned the whole island, if Hinata remembered correctly.

There was a small unlocked gate separating the garden from the front of the yard, after she closed it behind her Hinata gasped audibly. The garden was even more gorgeous than she had thought it was when she first saw it from a distance. It was obviously well tended, she noted as she fingered the leaf of a climbing vine that was growing on an archway. Hinata wandered among the blooming flowers and bushes, admiring the plants until she found herself shivering slightly.

Why was it so chilly when the sun was up? The violet haired girl wished she had brought a coat out with her as she rubbed her arms lightly. Within moments the cold wind passed and she sighed in relief when the sun began to warm her again. Hinata hated the cold- she preferred warm, sunny days.

Still feeling the effects of the chill she continued along the path, looking for a bench to warm up on. Through the leaves she saw the corner of one and smiled, that didn't take long. Passing the corner she was about to turn to sit on it when she realized there was already someone there, a boy, apparently asleep. Hinata flinched when she recognized him from the previous day, how could she forget the boy with the odd clothes and hair color? What was he doing here?

For some reason she doubted he worked for the Uchiha since he would have probably come with her and Kakashi yesterday. If so, why was he here of all places? She inched a little closer, bending down a little to look at him. Hinata noticed for the first time that he had a green sash around his shoulder and waist. She leaned forward slightly to see what it was attached to.

Her attention was drawn back to the boy's face when his turquoise eyes snapped open and focused on her. They stared at each other and Hinata felt her face turn red, jumping backwards she started waving her hands around to try to explain her actions.

"I-I'm so sorry! Did I wake you up?" As she babbled the boy slowly sat up, his face revealed his shock, "I didn't mean to, I saw you lying there and I just—!"

"You can see me?" Hinata's embarrassed blathering was interrupted by his question.

Her head tilted to one side unconsciously. "Am I not supposed to?" His eyes widened before he looked away from her, thinking about something. She straightened slightly, forgetting her earlier embarrassment.

"What are doing back here anyway? You don't work the Uchiha, right?" He didn't reply to her questions, if he heard them he was ignoring what she saying. Hinata frowned and moved to stand in the general direction he was looking in. "Excuse me," His gaze flicked up to her and for some reason she felt her heart stutter.

Instead of repeating her questions she found herself asking, "What's your name?"

His eyes held hers as he answered, "Hitsugaya Toushiro. And yours?" She was slightly surprised that he replied so quickly and smiled at him.

"Hyuuga Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hinata curtsied to him.

-V-

_Maybe she can answer a few of my questions_, Hitsugaya looked at the girl standing in front of him. Hinata straightened from her curtsy. He remembered her from yesterday but he had thought that her looking in his direction was a coincidence at the time.

"What country is this?"

Hinata blinked. "You don't know what country you're in?" When he didn't reply she continued, "This is Rice Field Country."

Hitsugaya almost face palmed, was she messing with him because she thought he was a kid? "No I mean, what _country_ is this? I don't want to know the occupation of this area."

Hinata frowned and raised a hand as if she was asking a teacher a question in class, "But I did just tell you what country this is! This is Rice Field Country. It's not as big as Fire Country but it's certainly not so small that it isn't known about." Hitsugaya stared at her, she was serious about this. This country was called…? He raised a hand to pinch his brow.

"Are you ok?" She asked uncertainly as he digested what she told him. Well, this definitely wasn't anyplace he was familiar with. Did he get transported to another dimension? It wasn't that far-fetched since the living world he was familiar with and soul society were located on different planes. Hueco Mundo was also in its own separate space as well.

It shouldn't surprise him that a place like this also existed full of living humans but separate from the living world he knew. But what does this have to do with the disappearances of all those rookie shinigami? Maybe it wasn't connected at all and he was just here by accident. But those missing memories of his…

"Um, Hitsugaya, if I'm not being too rude," She reached out a hand to touch his sleeve, "Why are you wearing such a strange out-?" Hinata's fingers passed through his arm, the captain looked at her hand. So she could see but not touch him, not like Ichigo who could see and touch the shinigami when they were in the living world. The girl stumbled backwards, clearly shocked.

"W-what?" She looked at her hand and back at him. Odd, he thought, if she could see a shinigami then she must have seen ghosts before too. Yet she seemed genuinely confused.

"Have you ever seen a ghost?" When she didn't show any recognition of the word he continued, "A spirit of someone who recently died, a departed soul?"

"N-no. I've never seen anything like that. Is that what you are?" So there weren't lingering spirits in this world, maybe they passed on immediately after death.

"No." He stood up from the bench, to look her in the eye even though she taller than him, "I'm a shinigami."

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "What is a-?" Hitsugaya saw something shift on the other side of a bush and shifted his attention to the movement. A young man came around the foliage, his eyes locking onto Hinata.

"Hinata? Who are you talking to?" The violet haired girl jumped and turned to the newcomer. The dark haired man didn't look in Hitsugaya's direction, seemingly oblivious of his presence. Something about him made the captain's skin crawl but he couldn't think of a reason why.

Before Hinata replied to him Hitsugaya walked over to her side, "You're the only one who can see or hear me," She looked down at him, "See? He's not even looking my way even though I'm in front of him." As demonstration the white haired boy waved his hand in front of him.

He met her gaze; her lavender eyes were still wide as saucers. It was then he noticed that her pupils were glazed over with the same shade of lavender as her irises. But she didn't seem to have problems seeing things around her, which was strange. Maybe things aren't quite the same here as back in the living world he was used to dealing with.

"Hinata?" The dark haired youth asked again. Apparently remembering him the girl broke her eye contact with Hitsugaya.

"Sorry, I was just day dreaming. What were you saying Sasuke?" Noticing her lack of honorfics again, Hitsugaya came to the conclusion they didn't have them in this culture. Her innocent smile caught Sasuke off guard. Even as he seemed to accept her excuse, Hitsugaya could see the suspicion glowing in his dark eyes.

"Nothing. I just came to tell you that Kakashi's gone to wait for your maid at the docks. They should be back no later than sunset, depending on when she arrives." His statement was cold and hollow, Hitsugaya observed.

As Sasuke left, the captain's eyes locked onto his back. What was it about him that made him feel agitated? Hinata sighed in relief at his side, obviously glad he hadn't pushed the issue further.

"Sasuke, huh," He turned to the relieved girl, "What is he to you exactly?" She blushed lightly.

"Oh. I guess I need to explain a few things too." Hinata smiled awkwardly and sat on the bench behind them. "Well, I guess the best way to refer to him would be as a _potential_ suitor. I'm the current heiress to the Hyuuga family and future clan leader. But unfortunately," Her awkward smile softened, "I'm useless in my studies, academic and athletic. My little sister, on the other hand, is the perfect daughter. Even though she's still young even I can tell she's excelling in her lessons at a rate much faster than I had at her age. My father can see it too and up until last year my father was seriously considering kicking me out of the family."

He didn't need her to explain why he hadn't; he could figure it out by her earlier statements and her conversation with Sasuke. "And let me guess, you got old enough to marry off so now you're here because your father wants to try making that Sasuke boy interested in you." Hinata stared at him for a moment before chuckling.

"It's that obvious, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Her head tilted downwards, her bangs hanging in front of her eyes.

Hitsugaya felt something in his chest react to her words, whatever it was faded within seconds of making itself known. Seeing her mood he decided to change the subject, "Have you noticed anything strange about this area?"

She lifted a hand to brush her hair over her shoulder as she looked back up at him. "Strange?"

"Yeah, specifically last night." Her eyes flicked to the side as she thought.

"No, not that I know. I went to bed pretty early last night so…" Hitsugaya looked toward the mansion. There wasn't much doubt in his mind that the strange energy he felt had come from this location. Did that Sasuke person have something to do with it?

"Sorry that I'm not much help, Hitsugaya." He turned his attention back to the violet haired girl. Her gaze was fixed on the grass again, her bangs hiding her eyes again.

The captain couldn't drag her into his problems; she had enough to worry about. He'd investigate on his own and find a way back. "Its fine, I was just asking out of curiosity." He turned and began walking away.

"Um… Hitsugaya," Hinata blurted out, "Would you, I mean..." When he looked back at her she hid behind her bangs again, "It'd be… nice if you came by to say hi again. You seem to be bothered by something and if there's anything I can do to help, I'd like to… I mean…"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind visiting you." He replied without much forethought. Immediately his hand went to his mouth, why had he said that? Hitsugaya turned on his heel and using shunpo he left the area. Unaware that he was blushing he told himself that he could ask her about the area or the strange person she was currently living with.

-V-

Hinata searched around the garden, Hitsugaya had run off after telling her he'd come visit her. She wondered why he left so fast, maybe he had something to do. Now that she thought about it, she forgot to ask him what a shinigami was.

Probably wasn't anything important.

She wasn't sure why she had asked such an embarrassing thing, the Hyuuga had just felt a bit lonely when he was about to go. Hinata smiled as she recalled his sleeping face. He also never told her why he sleeping there. She paused in her hunt to finger a flower. Perhaps he came to look at the plants, too? Not long after deciding that was the reason she went back to go inside the mansion. If Chitose was going to be joining her today, she might as well greet her when she arrived.

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A.N./ Woof, looo0oong chapter is long. ._.; Remember, **reviewing = loving**. ^w^ ~3

Reason I named the maid just now: I forgot to do it in the 1st chapter ;_; . And I thought it would get confusing to refer to her as 'the maid' when the current 'the maid' is Kaede. XD Also, am I the only person who thinks that the names of the countries in the Naru-verse are odd? O.o Originally, I was going to have Hinata say they were in Japan but the conversation that came to mind in that event was... well... uneventful . Then I ended up looking at the naruto country map and saw the sound village was in the 'rice field country'. Just the prospect of the gag that Hitsugaya would mistake the name of the country for a local slang made me lulz so much that I had to do it! :D

I almost actually typed 'Rice Patty' Country when writing this. XD I was so tempted to go back and do that but decided to stick the canon name.


	3. Butterflies

**Background Noise**

A.N./ Hum last chapter was looooo0ooong! D: But I really wanted to get to a certain point. .; I'll try to keep them a bit shorter in the future. Not as short as the first. Maybe around 8 pgs in Word… Anyway it occurred to me in the last chapter that I haven't told you guys the ages of Hinata and Sasuke.

Hinata is around 15, Sasuke is 17, Hitsugaya is… uh, whatever his age is. XD For future reference, Hinata is about 1 ½ inches taller than Hitsugaya and 3 inches shorter than Sasuke. She's not actually very tall in the anime or manga even before the time skip. XD I think I might be doing artistic license but, who cares lulz?

Btw, thanks to **Shiko Isihamaru**,** mori3**, and **Hinata6** for their love filled reviews! :D I'll keep doing my best for you guys!

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3

Hinata sat beside the window, watching a swallowtail butterfly flutter around. This window was facing toward the road; she was sitting by it so that when they came back she'd know. Her maid from home, Chitose, was supposed to be joining her today if her health had improved. But it had just been a small cold that prevented her from joining her mistress here in the first place.

"You know there is a library, right?" Kaede told her, setting down the pot that she'd been dusting off. The heiress glanced over at the maid. As usual her dark hair was pulled back into a bun and her uniform was still a plain black and didn't look like something a maid would wear. However, Hinata noticed one change.

"You're wearing a pink ribbon today?" She asked. She hadn't even noticed the difference this morning. It wasn't a bright or dark pink, it was a light shade barely above white.

Kaede frowned and pointed her feather duster at her, "Hey, I asked first!" But she glanced down at the ribbon around her neck, "I guess I am." The maid shrugged and went back to her chores. Hinata watched her for a moment before turning her attention back to the butterfly. It was currently resting on a small flower in the yard.

The mansion was quiet as usual. She found it somewhat disturbing actually and if it wasn't for the fact that Kaede was working Hinata would be striking up a conversation just to break it.

As she watched the butterfly relax, she wondered what Hitsugaya was doing. The swallowtail was still sitting on the flower when a pair of talons clamped over it. The blackbird didn't hesitate to start eating the butterfly right where it caught it. Hinata leapt from her seat out of reflex, staring at the scene.

"Is something wrong?"

Hinata tore her eyes away from the bird; Sasuke was standing in the doorway to the sitting room. She shook her head and sat back down, not looking back outside. The Uchiha crossed the room to stand next to her, looking out the window.

"Blackbirds are common in this area." He told her. "Have you never seen a butterfly being eaten before?" Hinata didn't reply to his questions, still looking down. No, she hadn't. Whenever she saw butterflies they always seemed like they didn't have a care in the world. Like they didn't _have_ to worry about anything. She knew that there were animals that ate them but she'd never seen it happen.

"Birds are the ultimate predators." Hinata looked up, meeting his unreadable eyes, "They're agile, intelligent," He placed his hand on the back of her chair, leaning down to look her in the eye, "Full control over their prey." Hinata's breath caught in her throat as he got closer to her.

Sasuke looked away sharply as the sound of breaking pottery echoed in the room. On the other side of the room Kaede crossed her arms, examining the broken ceramic on the floor.

"It really smashed into bits."

He immediately straightened, his eyes sparking with fury. "Kaede! I hired you to clean my belongings, not to destroy them!"

"It was an accident!" Kaede defended, glaring back at him. As the two began to bicker Hinata's lungs remembered their job and let her breathe again. For a minute there her mind had gone completely blank! It wasn't that she thought he'd do something indecent to her, but still, she was more enthusiastic than _ever _for her maid to join her.

The heiress stood up from her chair, "I think I'll go back to my room now, Kaede could you tell me when Kakashi and my maid arrive?"

"Leave it to me." Kaede told her as she left the room, Hinata didn't have the courage to look Sasuke in the eyes. As the door to her room latched behind her, the heiress wondered if she should really try fighting any of his advances. She lied down on her bed. Her father was going to try marrying her off to the first person who'd take her at this rate. Either that or kick her out of the family.

Sighing she stared up at the ceiling. It wasn't like he tried to kiss her or anything but since the moment she met him Sasuke seemed to be interested in her every movement. Hinata rolled over to face her pillow. Even though it was childish, she consoled herself with the fact that no one would see her hold her pillow as if it was the last thing she had left.

-O-

The knocking on her door woke her up, "Miss Hinata, the carriage is coming down the road."

Hinata sat up quickly and ran to the door, Kaede stared at her, "Alright, thank you Kaede!" The maid continued to stare at her arms. Confused, Hinata looked down and saw she was still holding the pillow. Oops. "Excuse me," She quickly went back to set it down on her bed and rejoined the maid, blushing lightly. Kaede gave her a look but didn't say anything as if it was so silly she didn't even need to comment.

When they reached the front door they saw that it had just stopped in front of the estate. Kakashi was riding with the driver, Asuma, and jumped down after it had stopped to walk over to the Hyuuga. She looked past him, expecting Chitose to climb out.

"Sorry," Kakashi said when he joined them, "No one came over on the boat today."

Hinata felt both saddened and slightly elated since that meant she got to talk with Kaede for another day. "Oh. I guess she's still sick…"

Seeing her expression he asked, "Would you like to come with us tomorrow? It must be pretty boring around here."

"Would that be alright?"

Kakashi's eye closed and she assumed he was smiling under his scarf.

"Of course, you are our guest." Hinata felt her mood brighten immediately and smiled at him.

"I'd love to! Thanks Kakashi."

-V-

Hitsugaya stood up, looks like searching here was a waste. He had come back to the area he had woken up in, but it seemed there was nothing to find. The captain walked around the small clearing, it wasn't more than twenty feet across in either direction, the trees loomed above him almost like a barrier between him and the rest of the world. He wasn't too far from the edge of the island; he could hear the waves from where he stood. As he headed in their general direction he reflected on his initial reaction to Sasuke.

What was it about him that made Hitsugaya so agitated? Before he could think on this further he noticed that he was almost at the end of the trees, the light blinding any scenery past that point.

He was glad that he saw it so early on; it wasn't that the light prevented the land past the trees to be seen. There wasn't any land past that line- it was a nose bleeding drop straight down at least one hundred feet into the ocean. _This isn't a very big island_, he thought looking to either side before walking along the ridge,_ it's_ _strange that it breaks off like that._

-V-

She sat on the edge of the porch, twirling a leaf in her fingers.

"Miss Hinata!" She looked up as a servant ran up to her; the woman's eyes were wide.

The lavender eyed girl smiled at her happily, "Is my sister here yet?" The older woman's face became tense and she looked away.

A slideshow of images flickered past her vision. Her mother, giggling and pulling a ladybug from her hair- playing tag with her cousins- her father's voice when she reached out to touch the unmoving body in her mother's bed-

"Mommy!"

-o-

Hinata gasped, her eyes shooting open. The world swirled around her as she tried to catch her breath. _That was a dream?_ When she had that realization her panic subsided, it was then she realized that her sheets were around her legs. It took her several minutes to untangle herself from them, suddenly realizing what Kaede had been complaining about.

She mentally pushed the images back, already feeling them loosen their hold and become blurry in her mind. The heiress sat up in bed for a moment, unwilling to go back to sleep for fear of the dream continuing. The chair by the window was inviting.

_The stars are just as pretty as yesterday_, she confirmed after sitting there for awhile. The moon, a waning half, hung nearly at the crest of the sky, lighting the garden below. Slowly she started counting the stars, a game she had played when she was little and couldn't sleep. She never finished since she usually fell asleep before she numbered them all.

The last number she remembered counting was forty three when her eyes closed without her consent.

-O-

"Ok, I thought the sheet thing was bad and the pillow was kind of weird…" The first thing Hinata saw when she woke up was an irritable Kaede standing next to her, "But I can't decide if the fact that you're using the window ledge as a cushion is endearing or insulting."

Hinata sat up quickly to start apologizing and trying to explain why she was sleeping there, but her movement caused the chair to wobble. The next thing she knew she was on the floor, her face hurt, and Kaede was laughing hysterically.

"Ouch." She complained, sitting up as the maid doubled over with her mirth.

Kaede was still snickering when Kakashi came to get Hinata after breakfast. He stared at the humorless heiress and the clearly entertained maid.

"It's time to go, Miss Hyuuga." He said, ignoring the situation entirely. As they walked to the front door Hinata glanced at the snickering maid.

"It wasn't that funny." Hinata whispered so Kakashi wouldn't hear her.

"Oh, it was." Kaede replied, finally having stopped giggling to herself. Her smile was too mischievous to fool Hinata, she was still imagining it. A few days ago she thought she'd miss having Kaede around, now she wouldn't really mind that.

The ride to town was uneventful, just her staring out the window as Kakashi read his inappropriate-looking book again. When they finally arrived at their destination Hinata joined the spiky haired man by a bench and proceeded to watch the water in front of them.

-O-

"You can go look around town if you're getting bored." Kakashi told her after they had been waiting on the docks for almost an hour, no boats so far. He held his book in his lap; he'd been reading it almost since the moment they sat down. It looked like he was near the end now.

Hinata shook her head, "Thanks, but I probably shouldn't. What if she arrives while I'm gone?"

Kakashi looked back down at his book, "You seem to forget that she's _your_ maid. And it'll be fine, if that happens I'll make Asuna look for you." Hinata sighed, _might as well_. It wasn't like sitting there would make Chitose join them any faster. She stood up, waving goodbye to Kakashi, before walking down the little road that led to the only village on the island. Hinata could actually see it from the docks, and as she got closer groups of people would walk past her on the road.

She wasn't really in a hurry; it wasn't like she had anywhere to be. Besides, she really liked the free time to be able to actual feel as if the whole day was hers! It may have been because her father wanted to get rid of her, but this 'vacation' was relaxing.

The village was mostly small houses, street vendors, and a few businesses that had pretty good stocks. A few children ran in the streets, having no reason not to. Hinata spotted a woman selling fabric and stopped to look. She was examining an embroidered handkerchief with a mountain sewed on it when she felt a chill creep up her arm. _Again_? She shivered slightly and rubbed her arms, next time she went out she was bringing a coat!

"Hinata?" The Hyuuga turned her head toward the sound, seeing a familiar face.

"Ah, good morning Hitsugaya!" Out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman running the stall gawking at her. Unsure what to say she laughed awkwardly and casually walked away from the stand, hoping that the woman would forget about it. When she joined him he sighed and motioned for her to follow him.

"Come on, we better get you out of sight before someone sees you talking to yourself again." She felt an ashamed blush on her cheeks as she followed him out of town. After a minute of walking they stopped in the edge of a line of trees, safe from eyes that would think Hinata was crazy.

-V-

He glanced through the foliage, looked like she hadn't been followed. The captain hadn't expected to see her again so quickly, much less out of the mansion she was currently living in.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked him, coming up next to him.

Instead of answering her question, Hitsugaya asked his own. "Why were you wandering around town, shouldn't you be at that mansion?"

"You mean the Uchiha estate?"She pointed toward a general direction behind her, "My maid is supposed to be joining me today so I came here to greet her when she arrives."

_Isn't it supposed to be the other way around_, he commented in his head.

"But she probably won't be here for awhile, so I started wandering around the village. What about you?" She waved her hands when he didn't reply, "I mean, why were you in town?"

He decided to state the bare minimum, "Just looking around." He had walked along the perimeter of thie side of the island he'd woken up on and hadn't found anything. He was still checking that area out when he felt the same tugging sensation from the direction that the estate was located.

When he went to investigate the previous night he ended up becoming exhausted and passing out when he got too close. Though he hadn't bothered going over again last night, he noticed that the pulling sensation was stronger than it was before, even farther away from the location it felt like its pull was more insistent. It lasted for about half an hour, and almost immediately cut off. What was going on there?

"Hitsugaya, are you alright?" Hinata's mouth was tucked into a concerned frown as she tried to decipher his expression. Her lavender eyes almost glowed in the shade.

"I'm fine, just thinking." He leaned against the tree behind him. He continued to ponder over the situation, deep in thought. Hitsugaya almost didn't notice Hinata wander off deeper into the woods. "Where are you going?"

She turned her head to look at him, a childish smile curled on her lips. "Somewhere." Hinata continued walking into the trees. He was about to let her go off on her own but he doubted if she would even know her way back.

"Wait up." Hitsugaya called out to her. If she heard his voice she didn't give any indication. If anything, she was walking faster now. Next thing he knew she cutting back and forth in the trees, where was she leading them? He managed to keep her in his line of sight by walking, but sometimes he would barely spot her before she disappeared into a thicket of undergrowth.

Hitsugaya was considering just running to catch her when he heard a crash and a loud shriek. Instinctively he reached back for his zanpakuto , using shunpo to dart ahead. The trees raced past his vision, at the last second he noticed a small drop off in the forest and managed to catch himself before he fell in.

"Hinata!" He called out loud, looking around. Where was she? He heard another loud scream from somewhere below and got into a stance as the grass below shifted.

Hinata's head poked up from the tall grass in the pit below, "Wow! There are so many flowers!" Wait, what? Now that he looked closer, as she happily laughed, he saw that the grass had small flowers on them. He slid down the short ledge, attracting the girl's attention. It wasn't a pit; it was a small clearing that was filled with blooming plants. He hadn't seen the rest of it because the trees and foliage above had blocked his view. Thinking it through, he figured that she must have fallen in by accident and the first scream he heard was due to surprise. Looking at her face now, he could tell the second was a result of her discovery. Hinata was practically glowing with her cheerful mood.

When she looked up at him her smile faded.

"Hitsugaya…" Why did she look so worried? He thought for a moment that something was troubling her and kept his eyes on her face.

"Why do you have a sword pulled out?" He blinked and looked down. Hyōrinmaru was still in his hand. '_Because I thought you were in danger'_, the thought floated into his head and hearing it made him blush. Completely embarrassed by his actions, he quickly slid the sword back into its sheath.

Hinata giggled at the look on his face before turning back to the flowers around her.

-V-

The look on his face was priceless; she decided when he tried to cover his mouth with one hand. He was beet red and it looked like he couldn't decide whether to scowl or get mad so his lips were twitching in the corners.

Hinata looked away from him so he could continue to try to regain his composure. She plucked a flower from its stem to twirl it in her fingers.

"What were you up to? I somehow doubt your plan was to fall in a hole." Hitsugaya asked her a while later after he regained his dignity.

She looked away from the ladybug on her arm, "Honestly, I didn't really have one." She could see the annoyance on his face and continued, "I just wanted to distract you for a while because you looked really troubled earlier. So…" The ladybug flew off her arm and she watched it fly over to land on another plant.

"Idiot. Worry more about yourself." She almost thought he was angry with her when he said that, but when she looked up he wouldn't meet her eyes and there was a light pink on his cheeks. Hinata smiled when she saw it. So, Hitsugaya was the type of person who got embarrassed easily.

She was about to pluck another flower when a small shape fluttered into her line of sight. A yellow butterfly. She felt her good mood fade as it came toward her.

"Hitsugaya," She asked as it landed on the flower she had been about to pick, "Have you ever seen a butterfly being eaten?" Her eyes focused on her hand, still around the stem of the plant. The butterfly seemed oblivious to the girl watching it.

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Did something happen?" Her fingers twitched around the stem as he spoke, startling the bug into flying away.

Putting on a brave face was hard, so she let her bangs hang in front of her eyes instead as she stood up. "Of course not, what would make you ask that?" Hinata walked past him, heading for the ledge to climb back up.

"Hinata!" Hitsugaya turned sharply and she saw him reach out to grab her arm, instead his hand passed through her just like hers had yesteday. His sudden movements made her look toward him so she saw the surprise and frustration on his face when it happened. They both looked away from each other, the awkward moment held them for a minute as they both sorted through their thoughts.

Hinata was the first to break it by turning around to look at the small slope for a way to get back up, "Its fine, Hitsugaya. Sasuke didn't do anything… we just talked a little bit." She tested a branch from a tree.

"I never said anything about Sasuke."

She flinched again and forced herself not to look at him, he had the upper hand and they both knew it. "Hinata, you didn't just come out here today to pick up your maid, did you?" The heiress couldn't meet his eyes.

"You wanted to get away from him, from Sasuke. Am I right?"

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A.N./ Dun dun duuuuun. D: Hitsugaya is pretty sharp, he's like a short Sherlock! *shot*

(dying on keyboard) Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter. It took a while and I ended up getting stuck on one or two parts. I wonder if I'm making Sasuke look evil? I can't tell. Haha, moving right along. There were several gags in this chapter, huh. I couldn't help it, the tension was depressing me… and once I thought of them I couldn't resist. Hope you guys will read the next chapter when it arrives! :D

**REVIEWING = LOVING**. Plz support my confidence. D: I need all ur love!


	4. Light from Above

**Background Noise**

A.N./ Scr*w the canon, I have green hair! … Actually I don't, but it was fun to say anyway.

I heard from a girl that part of Ch.3 confused them, the dream sequence. D: I'm so sorry if anyone else got confused by it too! I was really sleepy when I was checking that chapter over so I wouldn't be surprised if I did leave that part bad but— I'll try my best not to let it happen again! D;

I really need a beta reader… If anyone would like to do it for me, I'd love you forever. D:

Also, thanks so much reviewing **Hinata6**, **Shiko Isihamaru**, **Unnamed**, and** otakuxfanxgirl **(thanks also for taking the time to review all the chapters and not just the most recent! ILY! ;3;).

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4

"What?" Hinata tried to laugh, but it sounded strained in her ears, "Don't you think you're being overly dramatic?" His probing gaze made the fake laughter die in her throat. "Hitsugaya, really, nothing happened. I just had a bad dream last night, that's all." She turned back to the slope and grabbed a tree branch from above to try climbing back up.

He watched her struggle for a minute before exhaling softly.

"You do realize that you could go around, right?" When she looked at him he pointed out where the slope became level with the ground. Hinata blushed in shame all the way back through the woods. Luckily, Hitsugaya seemed to have decided to let the subject drop.

"So, what did Sasuke say to you?" Or not. Not wanting to get back on that subject she looked for an excuse not to reply. They were almost at the edge of the trees; she spotted figures walking past them on the road side.

"Oh, look, people!" She quickened her pace to the tree line. Hitsugaya maintained his speed, much to her confusion when she realized he wasn't beside her anymore. Hinata looked around, seeing him standing several feet away. "Aren't you coming?"

The white haired boy crossed his arms, "No. There are some things I still want to check out." He shifted his eyes to the side, his expression already becoming distant and steely.

"Oh." She shifted in place, examining his expression, "S-Should I come with you?"

"I'll be fine on my own, besides, it's getting dark." He looked at the setting sun that was barely visible through the trees. Hinata panicked, thinking about how she'd been gone for several hours. They were all probably waiting for her right now.

It shouldn't be surprising, she spent quite a while wandering at random to distract Hitsugaya until she fell down that ledge. And then they spent quite some time talking and looking at flowers. And on the way back they walked instead of the quick pace she originally had them going at.

"I better get going, bye Hitsugaya!" Hinata said as she ran out of the woods. She'd just cleared the last of the trees when she thought to look back. He was still standing there, watching her go. All by himself. Her pace slowed as she continued along the road, thinking about the strange boy. What does he do all day, explore the island?

She sighed and kept her eyes to the trail. If she had paid any attention to her surroundings, she would have seen the looks on the faces of the villagers as she walked by them. The heiress still didn't notice anything as she neared the docks. Kakashi was the first to spot her coming down the road.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't realize how late it was!" She apologized as she joined the two servants.

"Ah, there you are Miss…Hyuuga…" Kakashi's only visible eye stared at her as Asuma's eyes bugged out and he tried to hold in laughter, looking away from her. Hinata blinked at the giggling servant, what was so funny?

"Um, Miss Hyuuga," Kakashi cleared his throat, "Did you fall down or something? You're a mess." Asuma wasn't able to contain his mirth any longer and began laughing over the opposite edge of the carriage.

Hinata looked at herself for the first time in several hours. It was true, her knees were caked in dirt and bits of grass, and her skirt had soil and grass stains all over it and small burs stuck to the ends. All in all, she looked like she rolled down a ditch and into a pile of dirt.

Her face felt like it was going to ignite any moment as she wondered how many people had seen her look so messy. The heiress hadn't noticed at all, _why didn't Hitsugaya say anything?_ It should have been obvious after she fell down that she was going to look awful but she'd been distracted by all the flowers. It wasn't that she especially loved flowers; it was just a surprise to find them like that.

"I-I fell down." She told them, trying to ignore the raucous laughing that Asuma was making, "I was hurrying back here and I tripped, I didn't really pay it any attention at the time."

Kakashi hummed and then turned to the carriage. On his way to climb up he pinched Asuma's arm to make him stop laughing. "We should get going then, you need a bath and we'd hate for any more people seeing you like that." Hinata watched him climb up and remembered the original reason they came to the docks.

"Where's Chitose?" She couldn't see anyone in the carriage and she doubted her maid would stand to be quiet during all the commotion they just made. Kakashi leaned out the carriage, pointing behind her.

"That's the last boat for today," Hinata followed his gesture, the same man who had taken her to the island was steering his craft out of the dock, "No one came on it. He's the only one who makes the trips out here and no one who _was_ riding with him today was your maid."

"Oh." Was Chitose still sick? Maybe it wasn't just a cold that she caught. Hinata climbed up into the waiting carriage, wondering if her maid was alright.

-O-

Kaede stared at the heiress's clothes, one eye twitching sporadically.

"I-I fell down," Hinata repeated to her for the third time, the maid had been making that scary face for the last two minutes, "Into the dirt. It was a-an accident."

Kakashi walked past them, finished with his conversation with Asuma, "Kaede, you're scaring her."

The maid's dark eyes darted to the spiky haired man. "She should be scared." The air around the two darkened and Hinata was tempted to back away, "Miss Hinata do you have any idea how long it takes to wash out a stain? A long, _long_ time. Until one's hands _bleed_. And you have the audacity to roll around in the muck and give me even more work to do?"

"I-It was an accident, I'm sorry." Hinata squeaked out before Kaede began yelling at her. Asuma watched the interaction, clearly enjoying the Hyuuga's terror.

The front door opened and an irritated Sasuke stepped out with Kakashi close behind, "What is going on out here?"

Kaede simply pointed at Hinata's clothes, making her blush again. The Uchiha proceeded to stare at her dirty clothing before turning his head, one hand over his mouth as an impossible sound came out of it. Was that a_ laugh_?

"What did you do?" He asked between chuckles, "Jump into a ditch?"

Startled by his behavior she replied automatically, "I fell down." That only made him start laughing, surprising her. It was strange to see him laugh so much. He was so serious all the time but now he seemed more…childish. He looked much younger than he had the last few days. She felt a light blush on her cheeks but didn't pay it any attention. In the middle of his laughing he looked back at her and seemed to notice something he hadn't before.

"Hinata, there's a blade of grass in your hair." He removed his hand from his mouth, he wasn't smiling but his expression was much lighter and soft than before. It took her a moment to realize what he just said and she reached up to feel her hair. Sasuke shook his head and crossed the distance between them.

"Not there, hold still." He told her as his fingers started working on a lock of hair near her ear. Hinata was turning red by this point, her thought process in shambles. He was much too close for her comfort. A treacherous part of her mind commented on how slender his fingers were. She felt something loosen and Sasuke held his hand in front of her face to show her the elusive item. Apparently he was wrong. It wasn't a blade of grass, it was a small wildflower.

Even though he had already pulled out the vegetation he wasn't moving away. Hinata felt her heartbeat speed up and she turned sharply toward the mansion.

"I-I-I better w-wash up!" The Hyuuga pulled away from him and began to walk away as ladylike as she could manage. It wasn't until she was safely inside that she realized that Kaede was on her heels. Though the maid's anger seemed to have simmered down, her expression was still bordering on terrifying.

"I said I was sorry!" Hinata repeated to her on the way upstairs.

Kaede didn't reply to her claim, simply glaring at her even as she took Hinata's filthy clothes and left to do some of her other chores. Hinata sat in the warm water and sighed. The bloodlust that Kaede was giving off reminded the heiress of home, though she was feeling anything _but_ homesickness.

Suffice to say, she was really enjoying the little freedom she had here. If Chitose was around, she wouldn't be able to freely do _half_ the things she had been up to the last few days. No walking around the garden aimlessly and without a prying maid trying to keep her from touching anything, no sleeping on the chair by the window – not that she wanted to do that- and definitely no being able to talk to Hitsugaya. It felt wonderful to be able to be so carefree; otherwise she'd be tugged around by her maid for fear of word getting back to her father of her antics.

But at the same time, she did miss having Chitose around at the very least as a comfort that she'd keep Hinata from being taken advantage of. As many faults Chitose had, she had nearly as many good points. Hinata smiled happily, recalling the time she had knocked out a boy who had been flirting with her. She started giggling, remembering the looks on the faces of everyone who had been around them. Hinata hoped she would get better soon; she was starting to miss her. Good God, she was missing Chitose! She sunk her head under the surface of the water.

-O-

"Miss Hinata, time for dinner." A woman called, knocking on the door. The Hyuuga looked away from the window, _that's not Kaede's voice_. The puzzle was solved when a woman with corn-flour yellow hair opened her door, she recognized her as the woman who was waving a bloody knife at her when she first arrived to the Uchiha estate. _Hadn't Kakashi called her 'Tsunade'?_

"Oh," She shook off the disturbing memories, "Alright." She quickly followed Tsunade downstairs. On the way her curiosity got the better of her.

"So, what do you do? A-Around the mansion, I mean." The blond kept walking with her eyes forward.

"A number of odd jobs. I cook, clean a bit, work a little in the garden, and sometimes I help Kaede with a chore she can't do by herself. When you have such a small staff, everyone has to pitch in to get things _done_ sometimes. My actual title is 'head of the staff' since Asuma and Kakashi wouldn't do shit if I wasn't around." Seeming to remember who she was talking to, she looked back at Hinata, "Pardon my language." Tsunade tacked it on as an afterthought.

Hinata smiled uncomfortably and waved her hand at the woman, "It's alright." The heiress was relieved when Tsunade left her side once they reached the dining room.

Sasuke, once again with his slim book, looked up at her as she joined him. The last few nights at dinner had been quiet to a somewhat awkward level. Neither of them spoke at all usually. That wasn't to be the same tonight.

"Did you wash off all the dirt?" He asked with a slight smirk on his lips. Hinata blushed for the umpteenth time today as she sat.

"Yes." She mumbled under her breath when it became apparent that he wanted her to answer. The truth was: he had made her feel like she was being watched at every moment when she first came here. It was a creepy sensation. Hinata managed to stifle it for a while, but it had kept building up in secret until the butterfly incident the previous day. It felt so awkward yesterday at dinner and she had to force herself not to jump whenever he moved. The heiress couldn't even bear to look over at him, afraid that she'd get caught in his gaze again.

Hitsugaya was right; she was using her maid as an excuse to get away from Sasuke. It was embarrassing for her to admit that she was so terrified of a would-be suitor that she would run away like that. It was like she was being hunted, more than anything. If Sasuke was a bird, then she'd be a butterfly. The memories of the blackbird's dinner floated into her mind's eye, making her shiver.

Dinner peddled on as the silence drifted into the space between them again. Strangely, it was a little more bearable than it had been the last few days. They were almost through eating the casserole for that night's meal when Asuma whispered something into Sasuke's ear. His dark eyes sparked for a moment before he returned to finishing his dinner.

Within moments of eating the last bite of her casserole, Hinata heard a chair being pushed backwards. Without thinking she looked up and found herself caught in Sasuke's dark eyes. Silently he held out a hand to her.

"Come on." He told her, "There's something I want to show you." _Should I_, she wondered even as she hesitantly placed her hand in his. His fingers curled around her hand as Hinata stood up. He lightly pulled her along out of the dining room, the servants went to work clearing the table as they left.

He led her along the hallways further into the mansion. Now that she wasn't trapped by his gaze, Hinata was beginning to regret agreeing to it in the first place. Where was he taking her? His back offered her no answers as they continued at a brisk pace. Finally he stopped and she peeked past his arm to look. He was unlatching a deadbolt from a door. When he finally had it unlocked he turned the knob gently to open it. Sasuke pulled on her arm again and led her through; she blinked and looked back and forth.

They were in the garden, so that's where the door was! It closed behind them, cutting off all the light from inside. The section they were in was overcast by an awning, but past it the garden was lit by moonlight. The crickets played their tunes loudly but hushed as they passed, starting up again when they were far enough away.

When they crossed the border between the darkness and light, Sasuke stopped again and pointed above them. Hinata looked up and felt her eyes widen. The moon was almost full and, oddly, a coppery yellow that seemed to shine brighter than it usually did.

"Wow." She whispered under her breath.

"This happens once a year in this area," The Uchiha explained, "For three days as the moon grows, it will change color until the third day when it becomes redder than the sun as it rises. There's a local legend all about it that the villagers are crazy about. Starting tomorrow they'll be organizing a festival like they do every year to celebrate." It was right then that Hinata remembered that he was still holding her hand. He squeezed it gently.

"It was during this time that I lost my family."

Despite her better instincts she turned to look at him, meeting his eyes. He'd never looked up at the moon like she had, watching her reaction to it the whole time. But strangely he seemed to look past her as if seeing something she couldn't. His eyes seemed lost and sad right then, slightly worrying her. "Sasuke… why are you telling me all this?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

Sasuke's eyes came out of their fog and focused on hers, making her heart stutter in her chest and began to speak slowly, "Hinata, I thought that… since it was _you_…" He closed his eyes and turned his head, "I thought that you'd like to watch it. That's all. We could come out and watch it change, go down to the village or something."

The Hyuuga stared at him; he seemed so different from when she met him. He seemed almost… _shy_. It was almost hard for her to believe that she had been scared of him just a few hours prior.

Realizing that he was still waiting for an answer she stuttered out, "I-I'd love to." Blushing softly she faced toward the dark shadow of the awning, "I-It's getting late. We should go back inside." Her fingers slipped out from his hand and she began walking toward the area where the door should be. When she didn't hear footsteps accompanying hers she paused and glanced over her shoulder. Sasuke was looking up at the moon.

"You go on back inside, I'll stay out here a little longer." His voice was solemn and almost overshadowed by the eager crickets tune.

Hinata watched him for moment. "Oh, ok. Goodnight Sasuke."

Even as the door swung shut behind her, he never replied to her farewell. Almost in a daze she retraced her steps back to the dining room and headed upstairs to get some sleep. She needed it after such a long day.

o0o

Sasuke kept his eyes on the moon above, even as someone stepped out of the shadows to join him.

"Well, that was a bit out of a character for you." Kakashi stated, sticking his hands into his pockets. The Uchiha ignored him even as he continued, "When did you tell her about your family? It's not like you to be so open." Sasuke's head tilted down at that examination.

"I wasn't going to, originally. I never planned to, but," He lifted a hand to cover his mouth, "The more I'm around her, the more I _want_ her... It might just be because of who she is but I can't stop thinking about her. 'I want her all for myself' is what keeps repeating in my head."

Kakashi's sole eye stared at him, almost disbelieving. Without warning he became tense and sighed, lifting a hand to ruffle his hair.

"I guess that changes plans, yours and mine." The Uchiha stiffened and threw a piercing look his way, almost accusing him of betrayal. "Before you overreact, I'll go ahead and tell you something that you _need_ to hear now that your feelings toward her are different. I've been monitoring her for you and she's been repeating a name for the last few days when she's alone. I thought it wasn't anything serious at first, she is prone to daydreaming it seems," Kakashi paused to meet his employer's gaze, he knew this wasn't going to go over well.

"And?" Sasuke prompted, losing his patience.

The man sighed again, "Hinata's story about falling down seemed suspicious to me when she was caked in that much grime. That and the fact that she had been gone so long. I went back to the village not long after we came back to ask around. At one point she had called out to somebody, the name Hinata called was 'Hitsugaya', as several people told me," Sasuke was clenching his hands into fists, "She then proceeded to leave town and wasn't seen again for several hours. A group of villagers near the edge of town saw her come out of the woods covered in dirt and grass…" Kakashi trailed off, the Uchiha looked like he was about to burst in a fit of rage.

"And you think she was with that 'Hitsugaya' person the whole time?" Sasuke asked, his voice trembling with anger.

Kakashi turned his head away. "Probably." He could feel the young man seething quietly near him.

"There's only one way to find out then," Something in his voice made Kakashi look up. The Uchiha's eyes were glowing red, two commas swirling dangerously in his irises as he stood under the yellow moon, "We'll just have to ask her, won't we?"

* * *

A.N./ Uh oh. This won't end well. D: There wasn't much Toshi-toshi this chapter, was there? Well, we really needed more building between Hinata and Sasuke. And yay, the first (and probably only) POV from Kakashi! :D Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed and story alerted so far, I wouldn't have been able to make it this far if not for you guys! :D

I'm really not sure how long this fic will be. ._.; I worry about that sometimes… btw, what do you guys prefer? Short chapters that are updated quicker or long chapters that will take a little more time? I don't care either way but I'd like to get other people's opinions. : )

And remember, **Reviewing = Loving**! 3


	5. Pebbles

**Background Noise**

A.N./ I love you guys, you know that? :D Gaaaaaah reading your reviews makes me want to write more! *w*

Unfortunately, my computer is bleeding Blue Screens of Death right now so I can't use it at all. Until I get it fixed or get a new one (hopefully a Mac, I'm so sick of Windows!) **my updates will be on Saturdays or Sundays, once a week** because that's when my mom comes home with her laptop that _actually_ works.

I'll be able to reply to reviews like always via my phone and I'll still be reading HitsuHinata fanfiction written by other people (also on my phone), I just won't be able to upload chapters as often as I have been.

Thanks so much for reviewing **Hinata6**, **evilbananalol**, and **riliya**. :D

Disclaimer: I do not have any ownership of Bleach or Naruto. That is all. (I always forget to do these)

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5

Kaede grumbled as she folded the heiress's now stain-free clothing. It took all night, but she finally had it done. As she yawned, the maid planned to give that girl a piece of her mind when she woke her up. The dark haired girl was walking toward the main room to head upstairs when a door to her right swung open. Kakashi stepped out, turning his head to look at her.

"Good morning Kaede, are you going to wake up Miss Hinata for breakfast?" He seemed well rested. The girl saw a figure behind him and blinked.

"Uh, yeah... Are you going to attend this morning, Mister Uchiha?" Something about the way his eyes shone in the dark made her shiver. Kaede couldn't remember the last time he actually ate breakfast in the morning; he _usually_ slept in. Kakashi must have awakened him early this time.

Sasuke ran a hand through his black hair, "Make sure Hinata comes on time," Was all he told her as the two walked down the hallway, "I have something I need to discuss with her."

-O-

After knocking on the door, Kaede walked into the room to shake Hinata's shoulder.

"Come on," She said as the heiress sat up and rubbed her eye, "Mister Uchiha got up early to eat breakfast today. You better hurry up!" That woke her up.

"He's what?" Hinata asked to make sure she heard right. He never ate breakfast! Kaede rolled her eyes.

"You heard me, get up! I need to make your bed." The maid went to work trying to sort the sheets as she got dressed. Hinata wondered if their conversation last night spurred him to get up so early. She reminded herself that even though he was acting different yesterday, it didn't mean he wasn't going to revert back to the slightly creepy guy he had been before. Hearing her thoughts she paused, feeling a little guilty for thinking that of him. Maybe she was being too tough on him…

His eyes looked genuinely sad when he spoke of his family. It was likely he built that outer façade to protect himself over the years.

Hinata felt something akin to sympathy; his situation was something she could relate to. On the way downstairs she decided to stop being so judgmental of him, if she kept trying maybe she could coax a smile out of him. She tried to picture it and failed, _well there's a first time for everything, including smiles. _

Kaede led her into the dining room and bowed slightly to Sasuke like she had been doing at dinner. "Miss Hinata is here to join you." Any cheery disposition the Hyuuga had before entering evaporated when she saw him.

Sasuke was sitting on the opposite side of the table today, much to her confusion since he usually sat on her side. His chin was resting in his hands, fingers interlocked to hide his mouth. His posture was hunched over, almost like a waiting predator. His black eyes smoldered in their sockets, making her wince visibly when they made eye contact.

"That'll be all, Kaede." His eyes never trailed away from hers. The maid walked over to stand by the wall like she usually did. The Uchiha's eyes broke away from Hinata, "I told you _that will be all_, Kaede. You're not needed here right now, leave." His voice sounded like it was a barely controlled bark, dragging along his gritted teeth. Hinata looked down at the tiles, trying not to panic. Why was he so mad? Last night he was much gentler, what happened?

The maid didn't take the order well, "Who's going to make-?" Asuma, ran in through the door, covered Kaede's mouth with one hand and dragged her, protesting and kicking, back out the door. He shut it behind them to leave the two alone in the grim quiet.

Hinata felt his eyes lock onto her again. To try to calm down, she held her hands in front of her at her waist to secretly twirl her thumbs around each other.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" His voice chilled her blood. Hinata felt her legs stiffen, thankfully, since right then she didn't want to get any closer to him.

"Um, S-Sasuke," She tried to force herself to not stutter but it didn't work, "W-Why are you s-so mad? I d-don't understand."

His eyes bore into her for a moment longer, "Does the name 'Hitsugaya' ring a bell?" Hinata flinched slightly when he said the name, not because of guilt but because of the venom that dripped off every syllable.

How did he know about Hitsugaya? Sasuke couldn't see or hear him, maybe someone thought she was crazy yesterday when she called out to empty air and came to tell him about it; but when? He wasn't mad last night when she had seen him! It wasn't like they did anything inappropriate anyway, but still, she'd rather not try and explain her newest friend to someone who was close to blowing up.

She put on a fake smile, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never heard that name before-"

"Then why did you call it out yesterday?" She should have made something up, he wasn't even trying to hold back his anger now, "You dare to stand in my presence and lie to my face?" His chair clattered to the floor as he stood. Hinata shrunk back as he walked around the table to yell at her, "You were running off with someone while under my roof! Do you know how that makes me look?" He barked, his black eyes burning into hers.

He thought she and Hitsugaya were…? She could begin to understand why he was upset, but he was really overreacting. Hinata swallowed a dry breath, "W-what are you t-t-talking about? W-we aren't even b-betrothed!" She managed to stammer out the words, hoping he'd see reason and calm down. It felt like she was wilting under his eyes, it was all she could do to keep from trembling.

He seemed to hear what she was saying but his anger didn't simmer down.

"Is that what you think? That we _aren't_ already engaged?" Sasuke laughed, the sound was cruel and mocking to her ears, "Do you really think that I would put up with you for _two weeks_ if I wasn't already interested in you? Your father and I have been planning your trip here for about a year!" She stared at him, dread settling in her stomach. Hinata had only suggested a vacation to her father a week before coming here.

"What are you talking about? _I'm_ the one who suggested a trip to my father! I-!" Her words cut off as a realization dawned on her. Something she had nearly forgotten resurfaced in the back of her mind.

OoO

_-Hinata sighed; another dead animal was in her room again. She had a suspicion of which of her relatives left _that _little treat. Several maids were shrieking and trying to summon up enough courage to pick it up, it wasn't working that well. Her personal maid, Chitose, groaned in annoyance at all the noise. She was sitting next to Hinata on the porch as they waited until they could go back in. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail._

"_How annoying." Chitose grumbled as one of the maids ran off to fetch a male servant to do their dirty work. The talkative girl looked at the lavender eyed Hyuuga next to her, "You look tired. I don't know how you stand this treatment; I'd have gone crazy by now." _

_Hinata smiled softly at her comment but before she could say anything her maid leaned closer to her, a devilish glint in her eyes._

"_You know what? You should think about taking a vacation!" At the stunned look on her mistress's face she continued, "No, really, you should! You're all tense, that's no good for the future head of the family. I'm sure your father wouldn't mind, you should mention it to him!"-_

OoO_  
_

Chitose was the one who suggested the vacation, but if what Sasuke said was true then her maid…

"For the remainder of your stay here you will not take one step outside." Sasuke told her, catching her attention immediately.

"Y-you can't just-!" Without waiting for her to finish, he grabbed her arm and began to pull her roughly toward the door. When it swung open she found herself pushed into Kakashi's arms.

"Take her to her room," Hinata's heart sank into her stomach as Sasuke's cold eyes examined her, "And make sure she stays there." Abruptly he turned and began walking down the hallway in the opposite direction Kakashi was dragging her.

"Sasuke!" She yelled desperately, "You can't j-just lock me up! Please!" When they got upstairs Kakashi nudged her into her room as gently as he could. It wasn't until the door had been slammed shut and locked that she stopped trying to free herself. Her fists, still curled, rested on the door. Hinata let herself sink to the floor in front of the door, tying to digest what Sasuke had told her.

Maybe that was why her father had agreed so quickly, he had _wanted_ her to come here. They'd planned it. But that would mean Chitose had been in on it too, that would also help to explain her cheery acceptance of it from the beginning. Normally the maid would be complaining about having to pack Hinata's luggage.

That actually pained her more than the fact that her father had been so eager to throw her into the arms of a boy he probably had never met in person. Chitose hadn't been the most ideal of maids but Hinata had trusted her. How could she believe that her maid had gone along with it? Getting an idea she began looking around the room for a piece of paper.

-O-

Kaede opened the door, holding a small tray of snacks. "Miss Hinata?" The heiress was hunched over a piece of paper at a small table, scribbling on it with a quill pen. As the maid watched, Hinata looked it over. _Perfect_, she thought, pleased with her progress, _all done_.

"What are you writing?" Hinata almost fell out of her chair. She whipped her head around to look at the maid.

"Oh, it's you." The Hyuuga sighed in relief upon seeing the irritable girl's identity.

Kaede's eye twitched but she didn't say anything in reply to Hinata's comment. "I brought you something to eat," She held the small tray out to Hinata, it had a bowl of strawberries, grapes, and hand sandwiches on it. "You _did_ miss breakfast and we'd hate for our guest to faint from hunger."

Hinata examined the tray in her hands before taking it, "Thank you." Kaede, apparently satisfied that she'd done her duty, turned to go. "Ah, w-wait a minute! I need to ask you something, something important!" Already losing her patience, the maid crossed her arms before facing the heiress again.

"Could you deliver a letter for me?"

Kaede stared at Hinata before reaching up to clean her ears with a pinky, "I don't think I heard you right. Can you ask that again?"

Hinata frowned, tenacity in her normally peaceful eyes, "I-I need you to deliver a letter for me, to the ferryman who comes to the island every day." Kaede's mouth dropped open and she spun on her heel to leave the room, "W-wait! Where are you going?" The lavender eyed girl leapt from her seat to grab the maid's arm.

"How stupid are you?" Kaede barked, not making or losing ground as she tried to free herself, "I work for the Uchiha! You think I'm going to do a favor like that for you just because I untangle your sheets in the morning? I'm not doing it! I'd lose my job for sure!" She continued to try pulling her arm from Hinata's grasp.

"But Kaede, you're the o-only person I can trust here!" Hinata replied, holding on stubbornly to the wriggling maid, "You just have to give it to him and retrieve the reply letter when it c-comes."

The black haired girl eventually stopped struggling, glaring at the normally meek Hyuuga disapprovingly, "You're set on this, aren't you?" Hinata nodded in confirmation, the maid groaned, "Jeez."

Kaede looked over her shoulder and yelled, "Well too bad, I'm still not going to do it!" Hinata was about to get upset and argue with her again, however the maid raised a hand and motioned for her to give her the letter.

Hinata smiled joyfully, she knew that she could count on Kaede! As she sealed the letter in an envelope she reflected that the dark haired maid was nicer than she let on. Even with that bad attitude of hers.

Slipping the letter into the collar of her dress, Kaede yelled loudly one last time, "No one here is going to go along with your stupid plan, y'know! Just give up." She slammed the door behind her, leaving the room as quiet as it had been before she came. Hinata sat down on the edge of her bed.

The letter was addressed to Chitose at the inn they had been staying at before Hinata came here. It terrified her, wondering what her maid was going to write back, if at all. But she had to hear it from her, even _if_ the truth hurt.

-o-

Kaede leaned against the door after she locked it. Slowly she pulled the letter from the collar of her dress, staring at it.

"What am I doing?" She muttered to herself, half-tempted to rip it into pieces right then. She could ruin everything she had going for herself by doing this. It was hard getting a good job around here and as annoying as it was at times, being an Uchiha maid paid well. Free room, free board, meals are on the house, compared to how it was before this was great!

Right when she was about to rip the letter, Hinata's pleading face surfaced in her thoughts. Kaede dithered, torn between decisions. If she went through with it then she could get in _huge_ trouble, but if she didn't then she'd be letting down Hinata. Ew, when did she start thinking that was an important factor? Kaede was leaning toward the money side of the issue.

'_Thank you.'_ Hinata's voice floated into her mind from the day she came here, _'I never thought to turn them on'_, what an idiot, who forgets to turn on the lights when it's getting dark?

Maybe that was why she couldn't decide. Hinata was so meek and shy, really thoughtless when it came to taking care of herself, almost useless even! It kind of reminded her of when she was a kid… Kaede shook her head, why was she even debating this? She had made her decision days ago when her employer had tried flirting with the girl.

_That girl needs all the help she can get_, Kaede stuck the envelope back into the collar of her dress, _and I'm the only one who can give it to her right now._

"I really need a hobby." She complained as she walked downstairs. Even though they all worked together, she hardly ever saw the other servants during the day. When she first started working for the Uchiha she found that relaxing, but it was slightly nerve wracking now since she didn't know where everyone was. Kakashi was probably reading in the library, Asuma was most likely slacking off, and that old hag could be anywhere!

Kaede straightened her back as she reached the bottom floor. Should she take a horse or go on foot? A missing horse might be noticed, but it would be too risky to stay away from the estate for too long. The maid ducked out the front door as stealthily as she could and hurried to the stalls. They were located on the west side of the estate under a large tree.

They were well kept by most of the staff, not including Kaede, and currently the stalls were home to four horses. Three dark mares and one blond stallion. There was room for at least a dozen more of the smelly beasts but Sasuke didn't care about how many they had and the staff didn't want to have more chores. Kaede didn't care much for horses, she didn't mind having to ride one but personally she thought they were just big donkeys. She had never understood where the appeal was. But maybe she was biased due to the fact that the first time she ever got on a horse it bucked her into a mud puddle. Stupid, sweaty, nasty oversized mule.

When she spotted Asuma leaning against one side of the horse stall she was tempted to curse. His eyes were closed, but she could tell he wasn't napping. You learned how to tell pretty quickly after having to work with him for a while.

Kaede debated on backtracking but she needed a horse. It'd take too long to walk and she'd definitely get caught. Sucking in a breath she headed toward the stalls. Maybe she'd get lucky and he'd decide not to bother with her, he was a pretty laid back guy most of the time.

"What are you up to?" Asuma asked as she attempted to saddle a mare. _Shit._ She bit her lip and tried to think of a way out of this.

Deciding on the blunt approach she whipped her head around to glare at him, "I'm going to town. I'll be back soon." The older man raised a speculative brow. Kaede led the dark brown mare out of the stalls past him. Without warning he reached out to grab the reins of the glorified donkey. Kaede made eye contact by accident and tried to keep her poker face on as he cross-examined her.

"Oh? And is this mission on your own accord or for someone else?" _Crap, he knows!_ The maid tried to think of some way to escape. Before she came up with something that would actually work, Asuma reached past her and began to adjust the buckles on the saddle.

"If you're going to ride a horse, you might want to know how to put a saddle on right." He complained, as he tightened a few straps.

Kaede stared at him, was he actually being cool for once? This had to be a dream. She was starting to change her opinion of him as she climbed up.

Asuma patted the side of the horse, "Pick me up some tobacco while you're there. I'm out."

Of course, he just did it for himself. _How did I not see that coming_, she wondered sarcastically.

"Alright, leave it to me," The maid replied sourly as she sat with both legs over one side. She snapped the reins to spur the horse forward, leaving the Uchiha estate behind. The trees and grass zipped by her eyesight, not that she cared enough to look. On the way she realized she hadn't been off the Uchiha estate in years. Probably the last time was before she started working for Sasuke…

It seemed like yesterday that she had been walking barefoot the other direction to ask for a job. A lot of good it did, by the time she had earned some money her father had already died. What an idiot, who gets drunk and falls into a well? The same kind of idiot that was so unreliable that his child had to find a job to support them since no one_ else_ would.

When she was little, Kaede couldn't even take care of herself, much less her increasingly defective father. It was all she could do to summon enough courage to walk along that road to the almost frightening - perfect- Uchiha mansion. The road felt so much longer back then.

As she reached the village she slowed the mare to a light trot. Instead of going through the settlement she took a shortcut around it to the docks. The faster she got this over with, the less likely it was that she'd be caught. Crap, she'd have to sneak out tomorrow too! Thinking about it made her agitated, having to go through all this _again_? Just perfect, why did she agree to this? After she reached the dock, that was vacant except for a man sitting on a bench, she started fidgeting atop the sweaty animal, and willed the ferryman to come sooner.

It didn't take her long to spot a boat coming across the water. Kaede slipped off the saddle and was standing at the end of the docks when the ferryman reached his destination. There were small boxes sitting in the bottom of his craft that smelled like fruit as they were hoisted onto the planks.

It took the ferryman a moment to notice her, his passive eyes not reacting to her much at all. "Can I help you?" He asked as the last box was taken off the boat.

"I need you to deliver a letter for me." Kaede told him, pulling the envelope out of her collar. He immediately rolled his eyes and looked to the post holding his boat in place.

"I'm not a mailman, you can deliver it yourself. I'll take you to the other side if you pay the fee but that's it."

_Of course it wouldn't be _that_ easy_, she grumbled inwardly. "Oh come on, it won't take two seconds." He ignored her and Kaede was tempted to throttle him. As she tried to come up with a way to convince him she pictured Hinata in her mind. She was really pretty, maybe…

"Oh well, I'll just have to tell _her_ that you said no. She'll be so devastated," He didn't react to her words. Ok, time for the big guns, "You probably know her too, you brought her over the other day. Long violet hair," He immediately froze, his hands still on the ropes, "Translucent, lavender eyes, porcelain skin…" The ferryman looked over his shoulder at her.

The blush on his face spoke volumes, "Th-that's her letter you have?" _Too easy_, Kaede held in a snicker.

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to tell her to send someone else out to deliver it." The maid sighed pitifully and turned to look in the opposite direction. It was all she could do to keep a straight face.

The ferryman held out a hand to her. "N-no! I can do it!"

Kaede waved his protest off, "No, no, I couldn't do that. You're not a mailman after all." She waved the envelope back and forth under her chin like a fan.

"I insist! I'd be honored to do it!"

She pretended to think about it, "Well, I guess it'd be ok. Deliver it to this address," Kaede instructed him as she waved it just out of his reach, his eyes followed it greedily, "and have a reply for me by tomorrow. Do that and I'm sure my mistress will be _most_ grateful." She held it closer and the ferryman eagerly snatched it from her hand, taking care not to wrinkle the envelope.

"No reading it." Kaede warned him, he just gave her a look like he hadn't planned to in the first place. His face returned to peaceful satisfaction as he pocketed it and rowed away from the docks.

As she watched him go she crossed her hands behind her head and walked back to her waiting horse, "That sure was easy." Now she just had to pick up some tobacco for Asuma and she'd have an automatic alibi. On her way through the village Kaede noticed the villagers organizing familiar looking decorations. Some were hanging lanterns from their homes and stands, others were getting out ribbons and stringing them across the road to the other side, and some people already were painting designs on the front of their buildings.

_Is it that time of year already, _Kaede frowned; she ended up missing the festival the last few years. Maybe she could find a little time to sneak off and enjoy it for once. What _was_ that old folk tale about again? She shrugged it off as she reached the stand selling tobacco tins, she'd remember sooner or later.

* * *

A.N./ Hitsugaya wasn't here at ALL this chapter! D:

GAAH! I didn't realize how much space Kaede would take up. It was really fun writing her, and I didn't want to skip around like 'Hinata gave her letter' and then just assuming it was delivered. It didn't appeal to me, so I ended up writing that whole scene…. Heh heh.

I promise Hitsugaya will be in the next chapter! (I'm so sorry) It also felt slightly important to explain how Kaede came to work for Sasuke since they don't seem to get along well sometimes. Asuma also got face time, surprisingly! He was fun to throw in. (it felt like he was blending into the background to me)

Like I said before, **Updates shall be once a week on Saturdays or Sundays** until my computer gets fixed or I get a new one…. Depends on which comes first…

As usual, **Reviewing=Loving**! Feedback makes me stronger! :-3


	6. Retracing

**Background Noise**

A.N./ Fwaaah! Hitsugaya! D: Where are you? This is early because I don't have school today and mom is off work too so she let me use her laptop (wroar i need a new laptop! DX)

I usually have a paragraph before each chapter so having nothing to say is scary...

Thanks so much for reviewing **Shiko Isihamaru**, **Hinata6**, and **otakuxfanxgirl.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

* * *

The puppet fell from the top of the stage, dancing on its strings as the old woman cleared her throat. The puppet had the appearance of a jester, cloaked in red and black. It hopped up and down as if in excitement, dirty bells jingling on its hat. It was old and worn from years of use. The children gathered around the front of the tiny theater to hear the story.

"Come 'round boys and girls, and let us tell you a story," The jester squeaked as the person behind the small stage moved the puppet to gesture to the sides of the stage around him, "About a monster," A nasty, long-nosed hand puppet came into view, "and a beautiful maiden," Next a dark haired, dollish puppet moved onto the stage. Both puppets, like the jester, were old and starting to become worn in some places. The children didn't notice at all and cheered on the performance. 

**6**

The afternoon sun was blocked by tree branches from above, thankfully, but it was still uncomfortably hot. Kaede felt the sweaty, giant pack mule underneath her slow down as they neared the Uchiha estate. She gripped the reins, the tobacco tin she picked up in the village biting into her palms as they got closer and closer. If she was lucky then no one has noticed her absence except Asuma.

But when they broke through the tree line blocking the estate from view the only person she saw was Asuma standing beside the horse stalls. The maid felt herself relax somewhat. As the horse approached him, the man gave her a lazy wave.

"Did you get my tobacco?"He asked when the mare was next to him.

She considered throwing it into his insensitive face but settled with just handing it to him. Silently she slipped off the horse and led it to the stall she had taken it out of. As she latched the small gate back behind it someone blocked out the light coming from outside. Kaede turned her head, prepared to chew out Asuma, and held her breath.

Tsunade's corn flour yellow hair fluttered in the breeze, "And where have you been all morning?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her eyes boring into Kaede's.

Crap. "Uh, I, uh," Realizing that she was being too suspicious she scrambled for her alibi, "I was just picking up some tobacco for Asuma."

The woman raised a skeptical brow and looked in the direction Asuma was standing. "Is that true, did you ask her to get you tobacco?"

There was a short pause, Kaede prayed that Asuma wouldn't rat her out.

"Yeah, I did." Asuma replied calmly. The maid held back a grin, she planned to pay him back tenfold for this. Maybe doing a couple chores would cover it? Before she could even think which of his duties she could do for him he continued, "But she was taking a horse even before I asked her."

_Turncoat_, she grumbled in the back of her mind. Tsunade's head turned back to Kaede, her eyes narrowed. _Crap. I'm so dead_, Kaede considered running away but there was only one exit and the angry blond was standing in it. The woman walked into the stables, her fiery eyes piercing in the shade.

"What were you doing? You aren't the type to run off on whim so don't even try to tell me that."

Kaede kept her eyes focused on Tsunade. It was difficult but it'd be fatal to look away since that would be the confirmation of her guilt, "I wanted to see how the festival was progressing." Tsunade stopped in front of the maid, glaring down at her. Kaede had to will herself to stay where she was.

"You expect me to believe that? You've never gone to the festival in all the years you've lived here. Much less leave the grounds. Even if you had a change of heart, why go to look the day before the festival? Especially during the time you're _supposed_ to be working!" Kaede could feel the woman's impatience mounting and swallowed a dry breath.

Should she just admit what she had been doing? She could lose her job by telling, but she already might lose it by refusing to answer! Kaede was torn, she needed this job. She had nowhere else to go if they kicked her out, no one would take her in or feel pity for her. It wasn't like there were occupations spilling out of people's ears around here, and the people in town wouldn't be inclined to help her out even if she begged. They'd just say she was stuck up for working at the estate and turn their backs on her. She had little money in her possession, when she first came to work she had a paycheck to pay for her father's expenses. But when he died Kaede moved into the Uchiha mansion permanently and started working for her room and meals instead like the rest of the staff.

"I-I…" Kaede couldn't hold Tsunade's eyes any longer and looked away, "Miss Hinata asked me to deliver a letter for her, to the ferryman."

"And you did it?" The blond yelled, grabbing the girl's shoulder to shake her, "You work for the Uchiha family, not for the Hyuuga! What were you thinking? If Sasuke finds out what you did he'll throw you out onto the street, don't you understand that?"

Someone cleared their throat; Kaede's eyes darted past the woman's body to the door. Kakashi's dark eye was examining the two females.

"Actually, it depends on who the letter was addressed to." _How much did he hear_, Kaede wondered as he entered the stable, "Do you remember what the name was on the envelope, Kaede?" Tsunade's grip on her softened as Kaede visualized the letter in her mind.

"I think it said 'To Chitose' on it." She said, wishing that the blond would let go of her shoulder.

The man's eye closed, "That's fine then. Chitose is the name of her family maid, so it doesn't matter," Kaede's ears perked, "Something like this isn't even worth his time to hear about, but don't pull something like this again." She blinked, _I'm off the hook?_

"S-sure." The maid sighed in relief as he left them. But Tsunade's hold on her arm increased in strength and Kaede looked up at the older woman. The blond's angry mask was back.

"Just because you're off the hook for delivering the letter doesn't mean I won't punish you for skipping your morning chores. In addition to all your afternoon and evening duties, I want you to scrub all of the tile on the first floor tonight. If it's not done before I wake up tomorrow morning you can better believe that you'll be taking over all the stable duties for two days! Do I make myself clear?" Kaede deflated mentally and bowed her head.

"Yes ma'am." All of the tile? That'd take all night! Crap. That girl had better appreciate what Kaede had done for her. Not to mention the fact that she's going to have to retrieve the reply letter tomorrow. This day was just getting worse and worse. Tsunade finally let go of her and they left the stables. The maid looked up at the clouds above her and resigned herself to a long and tiring day.

-V-

Hitsugaya looked up at the sky as he reached the cliff. It was about mid-afternoon if the sun was to be trusted. His stomach grumbled loudly but he ignored it for the moment, he had a few provisional pills with him to satiate it but he was busy at the moment.

After Hinata and he parted yesterday he had continued his search of the island to no avail. The spike in spiritual energy last night was getting more intense by the night. He was at the edge of the island and still his clothes had fluttered toward the center of the island as if being blown by a forceful breeze. It lasted about half an hour, shorter than the previous occurrences.

He considered investigating the Uchiha estate but he doubted he'd find anything if he didn't know _where_ to look. The only way to know where to check would be to go when the vortex was active, but he'd already learned the hard way what happened if he got too close.

But there was something he noticed last night that he hadn't the preceding ones. There were _two _areas that the energy was coming from. There was the main center of the vortex at the Uchiha estate and a small flow of energy on this side of the island at an angle to where he was at the time. The captain had narrowed it down to this area and as he looked over the cliff it confirmed his suspicion.

It was pretty well hidden but there was no mistaking the cave in the side of the cliff. There was no guarantee that it was what he was looking for but checking it was a better option than standing around all day.

As Hitsugaya jumped off the edge of the cliff he found himself wondering about Hinata but shrugged off his concern. It wasn't as if she was in any danger, Sasuke may be suspicious but he found it unlikely that he would harm her.

-V-

Hinata's gaze was fixed out the window; no one had come to check on her all day since Kaede left. Once or twice she thought she had heard footsteps in the hallway but no one ever came to her door. The heiress crossed her arms on the window ledge, and slowly her mind drifted to her conversation with Sasuke.

According to him, her father had been plotting this for awhile. But why? Why not just arrange the marriage and get a date set up? Why go to all the trouble to send her here? And Chitose had _helped_ him. Granted, she was employed by her father but still to turn on Hinata too… Her fingers tightened where they were settled on her arms.

Ever since her mother died, it seemed as if everything was spiraling more and more out of her control. Back when she was a child her father was gentler to her when she made a mistake, despite her lacking performance in her studies he wasn't nearly as harsh with her as he was in the more recent years of her life.

She remembered her mother very well, she was kind and loving and everyone loved her. Though, she had never been in the best of health psychically. Her mother hadn't been bedridden but she had been weak and unable to accomplish certain tasks by herself. It was giving birth to Hanabi that had been the nail in her coffin.

Hinata's eyes closed and she could see it clearly in her mind's eye. Her mother's unmoving body in her bed, her cheeks had still been flushed from childbirth. She remembered hearing her new baby sister crying in another room. Her father's cold eyes when he looked at her, full of hate, of accusation. Immediately afterwards his whole demeanor towards her changed. The rest of the family copied his behavior to match him, soon forming their own reasons to despise her. Why did he change so much? Was it grief?

The Hyuuga shook her head, trying to dispel her depression. If she kept fussing over it she'd surely go mad! She feared what he would say if she asked him directly, Hinata didn't think she'd be able to bear whatever reason he had to hate her. She was just a coward. Her eyes began to sting and she set her head down on her folded arms to look outside. The heiress wondered if Kaede was able to deliver the letter.

A figure wearing white flitted into her thoughts and Hinata sighed. What was Hitsugaya up to anyway? The clothing he had worn was so strange, nothing like she'd ever seen. He looked solid to her but she couldn't touch him, not to mention the fact she was the only person who was able to interact with him. Who was he really? And why would he carry a sword with him in the first place?

Hinata knew nothing about him, but he didn't seem like a bad person to her. In fact, she felt carefree around him, comfortable even. She doubted that she'd see him again, maybe from her window, but being stuck inside meant that there wouldn't be any chance meetings. Though they had only spoken twice, she would miss Hitsugaya's company.

Finding animals in the clouds, the heiress wondered what the white clad boy did all day.

-V-

The captain walked along the cavern, eyeing the shoulder-high light fixtures alongside the walls. The fixtures held tall, white wax candles that shone brightly. But as Hitsugaya looked at them he realized that the wax wasn't melting, nor were the wicks getting shorter. Pausing he crossed to one and held his hand over one of the flames. It was giving off heat, no doubt about it. He pulled away and frowned at the lights.

Whatever was causing the candles to perpetually burn like this was unnatural. Why were they here in the first place, was this an exit tunnel? No, that couldn't be right. This cavern opened on the side of a cliff, inconvenient if one wanted to make a quick getaway.

The cave turned up ahead, blocking everything past it from view. Knowing he wouldn't get answers by staying there the captain continued along the cavern. The wavering flames caused his shadow to play across the floor, getting shorter and longer as he passed by each candle.

The curved walls were smooth, unnaturally so, he reflected as he came closer to the turn. Whoever created the cavern did a good job. Past the turning point an archway into a room ahead came into view. He looked around the room as he reached the opening.

It was relatively small, much smaller than his office back at the Soul Society. It was a square room and about ten paces wide. There was no furniture except for a few near empty bookshelves on two of the walls. A few papers and several thick volumes lay on the floor. There was no other visible entrance from where he stood, he assumed it was hidden and turned his attention to the bookshelves.

"Someone was in a hurry." He observed, walking over to pick up a paper from the floor. It seemed even though the culture was different, the people of this world wrote with the same kanji used in Japan. But his luck seemed to end there since the page and its words were slightly faded and unreadable in some parts. His turquoise eyes skimmed the page.

_The red moon is the patron- these times allow for the release of the- only will be broken when- The ritual shall only work when Shīzi Liú_ _is- must be- _

He was only able to decipher that much of the page. The captain walked over to a bookshelf to set it down and noticed the spine of a thick, worn book. Along the spine was a painted fan that was faded from age. Curious he picked it up, the lack of title interested him.

He turned it over. On one side faded, gold paint was set in swirling, complex designs. On the other side the face of a lion swirled from the golden chaos. Assuming it was the cover he flipped the book open.

To his surprise, the first page was a drawing and as he indiscriminately looked at other pages he realized that it was a picture book devoid of words. He was about to put it back on the shelf but one page caught his attention. One of the people depicted in the story looked oddly familiar.

The character, a female, was wearing long flowing robes that were colored a light blue. Her hair was long and came almost to her waist and her bangs were parted in the middle, her features were dollish and soft like a child's. The girl's eyes were dark brown but something about her face caught his attention. It took him a moment to establish the connection and when he did, he almost didn't believe it. Except for the hair and eye color, the girl looked a lot like Hinata.

He almost chalked it up to his imagination, but the resemblance was undeniable. The facial structure was too similar for it to be a coincidence. Without realizing it he flipped back to the first page and began looking at the pictures chronologically. The story slowly unfolded as they flipped by.

o0o

Dinner was exceedingly awkward, since neither Hinata nor Sasuke spoke since the young Uchiha was still irritated from that morning. After they both finished Kaede had eagerly led the Hyuuga back upstairs, clearly affected by the tension as well. Kakashi sighed and refocused his eye on the page he was on.

His eye skimmed over the pages of his book, enjoying the love triangle between Rita and the Kubo twins. He was just getting to the confrontation scene when the screams started. He glanced at the closed door next to him and then back to the book. Kakashi adjusted the scarf around his neck as he waited for it to end; he had trouble ignoring the sound when he read. After ten minutes the screaming broke off and he got to his feet.

After opening the door, he spotted Sasuke resting on his knees in the center of the large chamber. The door swung back behind him as he crossed the room to stand next to the Uchiha.

"You alright? Sounded like it hurt." He repeated the same words he had said the previous nights, knowing what the answer would already be.

"I'm fine!" Sasuke barked wearily, running a trembling hand through his hair, the black marks on his skin still retreating from view. The Uchiha stood up, still wobbly on his feet, and looked at Kakashi. His red eyes had evolved again, three comma marks pin-wheeled around his pupil.

"Tomorrow night will be the final step, and then the seal will finally be broken. We just have to make sure Hinata is here for her part when the moon rises." His hand, now covered with sweat, lowered to his side as he continued, "Remember Kakashi, you must have her here in time to begin the final stage, understand?"

The white haired man tipped his head, "Leave it to me, Mister Uchiha." The two were about to begin clearing the collected dust from the floor when they heard a metallic clatter. Kakashi spun on his heel just in time to catch sight of a shadow moving on the other side of the door. It had been cracked open during their conversation; both were oblivious to it until then.

"Stop them!" Sasuke commanded, too weary to give chase. Kakashi ran to the door, removing the patch from his eye to reveal what was hidden underneath it. The eye hidden under the patch was similar to a snake's; it had a slit pupil but the iris was blood red. A small scar trailed from the top of his eye lid to the middle of his cheek, normally hidden by the patch and scarf.

Whoever had spied on them wouldn't be able to hide for long, Kakashi knew this as his ducked out the door in pursuit.

* * *

A.N./ Kakashi's secret has finally been revealed… he loves love-triangles! D: (smacked) Anyway, this chapter was actually shorter than the last few have been. But I like the cliffhanger so you'll guys will have to wait until the next update. Haha. (runs away)

Notes: Shīzi Liú Should be read as 'Shiizuh Li-Uh' The marking above the I is called a macron and indicates a longer vowel, while the italic above the U marks a stressed syllable. (This has been the author with your weekly grammar lessons :D)

Reviewing = Loving… So do it. D: Review, darnz it! (Rage)


	7. Shadows

**Background Noise**

A.N./ Time for the thrilling conclusion to the last chapter's cliffhanger. Sorry this was a little late, but as you can tell the length of this chap is why it took so long to finish. (also writer's blockage contributed a bit but I managed to get through it)

Oh, I meant to mention this at the end of the last chapter but I forgot to so before people start going 'Hitsugaya is a shinigami, he can't pick up objects' let me explain! (glares) Alright, if everyone remembers in Bleach, when in the living world shinigami generally don't interact with solid objects. As shown in the first chapter of the manga, shinigami can move through walls in the living world so of course it would be logical that they can't touch things (one would assume so anyway). BUUUT if you'd also remember, Hollow can destroy roads, walls, etc. So I would think that shinigami _can_ touch stuff too, but don't generally because they don't need to.

Further, captains and lieutenants are required to wear special seals while in the living world to reduce their influence upon humans and etc. with their spiritual pressure.

I think it is logical to assume that, at the least, captains can touch and move solid objects based on that stuff. Besides, this is a fanfiction, I have artistic (writers?) license, so you trolls can kiss my-

Thanks so much for reviewing **Shiko Isihamaru**, **Hinata6**, **otakuxfanxgirl**,** evilbananalol**, and** xDarakuxShitaxTenshix**. You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

* * *

_Kaede yawned as the puppet show continued. Asuma's tobacco in one hand as sad paper dolls moved across the little stage._

'_Long, long ago, the people of this island lived in misery. For years, their once prosperous land was being controlled by a cruel and greedy dictator who used his large army to terrorize the neighboring lands. He used the island as a military post for his operations and taxed the villagers heavily to pay for his battles. The poor villagers lived in fear, keeping their children inside for fear of them being beaten or killed by the lord's bloodthirsty men. Again and again, the evil lord took advantage of the weak villagers. And again, and again, the villagers sunk into despair._

''_We cannot live like this any longer', they said to one another, 'but what can we do? We have no army, no weapons, we are naught but poor farmers!'_

'_Just when they were about to give up hope, a tengu appeared before them. _

'' _I have heard your dilemna,' He said, 'Promise me this island and all control over it, and I will kill he who troubles you.' _

**7**

What was that?

Kaede ran up the stairs, her bucket falling on the floor behind her. The maid had been in the middle of scrubbing the tile floor in the kitchen when she heard screaming echoing down the hallway. As if in a trance she followed it to the cellar door and down the steps into the dark room below when the noise cut off.

Just when she had thought that she had imagined it, Kaede saw a crack of light across the floor. On one wall a wine rack had been pushed aside to reveal a door and from inside she could hear voices. Curious, she gently had set her bucket down on the floor to peek into the room.

Sasuke had them—Sasuke had the cursed eyes! All those stupid superstitions about the Uchiha clan were true!

She could feel her lungs burning but ignored it, her panicked mind focusing on not tripping on the steps. Kaede had to warn her; warn Hinata. She had to get her out of here, screw her job! She didn't know what exactly the Uchiha planned to do, but she knew she wasn't going to roll over and not do anything. No matter who he was, she wasn't going to let that jerk do whatever he wanted!

Dimly, the maid heard someone else on the stairs below her and she glanced over her shoulder. At the bottom of the stairs, she could see the figure of a person with a single glowing eye. Seeing it sent a chill up her spine and she sped up her pace to get to the top of the steps. When she reached the hallway she spun around to slam the door shut behind her.

Kaede paused, looking for something to jam it shut with. When nothing presented itself and the footsteps on the stairs got closer she settled for running for the door to the dining room, cursing under her breath. If she went straight to Hinata's room, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd get caught.

The door had just closed behind her when she heard the one to the cellar swing open. The maid's eyes darted around the dark room, _now what?_

She gulped down a hasty pocket of air and quickly crossed the pitch black room toward the kitchen. Noticing how quiet it had gotten, she looked over her shoulder at the entrance to the dining room. A little light peeked from around the frame of the door and as she reached the kitchen something blocked it from the other side.

Her heart skipped a beat and she tried to close the kitchen door behind her gently. It was blacker than ink in the kitchen. The maid carefully made her way through the room, knowing it was probably still slippery in there from when she had been scrubbing the floor earlier. Kaede started feeling her way along the wall, looking for the door to the coal room.

Before the gas pipes were installed, the Uchiha had a small room located next to the kitchen to store coal for cooking and heating the home in winter since it had once doubled as the furnace for half the mansion. It had long since been emptied and was mainly used to store old furniture and paintings now. Sometimes if you looked around enough you could find a lump of coal that had been left behind by accident.

Her fingers had just found the frame of the door she had been looking for when she heard something over her beating heart- footsteps on the other side of the wall. _Double crap!_ Kaede grabbed the handle and slipped inside, moving through the aisles of junk to the far side of the room. When her fingers discovered an armoire she immediately hid inside it, holding her breath.

Not a minute later the door to the coal room creaked open on its old hinges.

"Come out, I know you're in here..." Kakashi's voice was muffled by the armoire's doors but she would recognize it anywhere. Wait, the person following her had a _red_ eye. Sure, he was always following Sasuke around, but what did he have to do with all this? And was he the owner of the red eye she saw earlier?

Her train of thought was disturbed when she heard him walking around in the room. Without thinking she lifted a hand to cover her nose and mouth as if that would keep him from finding her.

"My red eye can see what is unseen," Kakashi spoke softly, as if his attention was focused on something other than his words, "Did you know that the human soul creates what's called an 'aura'? It extends outside one's body and each one has its own unique signature, no two are exactly alike. When a person's emotions are at a high level this 'aura' can rub off on surrounding objects, leaving a trail behind." His footsteps came closer and closer to her hiding spot. The wood of the armoire felt uncomfortable against her back but she didn't dare moving to a more comfortable position.

When his steps went silent next to the armoire, Kaede felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"Ah, there you are," Kakashi said as he opened the door to the armoire, kneeling down to look her in the eye. It was still dark in the coal room, but the red eye gleamed evilly, its snake-like pupil was thinner than a shard of glass, "Kaede."

-V-

"A tengu?" Hitsugaya guessed when he saw the male character holding a fan. They were a popular creature in Japanese folklore; they usually carried a magical fan called a 'hauchiwa', which had the power to control the wind. The more similarities between this dimension and the living world he saw, the more he noticed the differences.

He continued to flip the pages. He turned his eyes back to the book in his hands and continued the story.

In the previous pages the villagers had fled into their homes until the tengu instructed them to come back out. The tengu climbed the mountain on the island to raise the fan in his hand to the sky, causing a foul wind to blow in, a dark storm covering the island with a dark shadow. The war vessels around the island were tossed in the waves the wind stirred up, crashing into each other and sinking.

Above the island, the storm churned, lightning bolts dancing across from one cloud to another. The tengu raised his hand, catching one in his palm. From there he descended from his perch, killing every soldier he came across. One by one, they fell until only the oppressing lord of the island remained. The moment the cruel man saw the tengu he fled, running through the trees and sneaking through grass, until he at last reached the very village he had terrified for so long.

Seeing that there was no way to escape the island he got to his knees to beg for his life. The tengu didn't blink an eye when he electrocuted the evil man to death, grinning at the charred body left behind. Slowly, the villagers came out of their homes, cheering happily that their oppression was finally over. But as they celebrated, one person walked over to the charred body, covering its face with a dainty white cloth.

The girl who looked like Hinata frowned softly at the body as she draped the cloth over it. Not noticing her father in the background talking to the tengu. As she began praying over the corpse, they began to gesture toward her, the man quickly agreeing to whatever the tengu had said. Her attention was still focused on the body when a shadow crossed over her.

The time Hitsugaya spent down there reading evaded him as he found himself immersed in the story. The walls of the room seemed to block most of the vacuum-like energy but it was still noticeable. He hadn't realized that he had been down there so long. He looked at the walls around him, trying to pinpoint where the energy was coming from. He set the book down on the shelf so that it lay open and began pacing along the stone walls, looking for where the energy was the strongest. The wall across from the door stood out to him immediately since it had nothing pushed up against it. His suspicions were confirmed when a spot parallel to the door leaked more of the strange energy than the rest of the wall.

Hitsugaya's hand slipped through the rock and he felt it open up on the other side. Instead of going through immediately, he waited for the energy flux to subside. His previous experience with getting too close during the energy flux had been unpleasant and the captain wouldn't be able to stand a repeat.

-V-

Kaede struggled against Kakashi's grip on her arm, but her efforts proved useless as he dragged her down the cellar stairs. The gray haired man sighed; this wasn't exactly how he planned to spend the night. Sleeping, yes. Dragging a kid around, no.

"Let go, you porcupine head!" She yelled, trying to dig her heels into one of the steps. Instead of stopping him, her feet plunged over the edge of the step causing her to fall over. Kakashi's grip on her arm kept her from rolling down the steps but before she could even try breaking free again he pulled her back up, grabbing her around the waist, and in one smooth movement tucked her under his arm like a package. For a moment, she was silent and he found it relaxing. It didn't last long, sadly.

"You pervert, let go of me! I'll kick you, I swear it!" She wiggled back and forth, trying to slip loose. Kakashi sighed and stopped on one of the steps.

"Calm down and just _listen_ to me. Whether you understand what's going on or not, please believe me when I say that we won't hurt you, alright?" She slowly stopped struggling as if believing what he had said. _Finally_, he sighed in relief as he continued down the stairs.

When they reached the large chamber, Kakashi set her on the ground gently, keeping one hand on her shoulder. Kaede's nose wrinkled in distaste but she didn't try to swat it off. Sasuke hadn't left his spot from the middle of the large room and when they came back in he looked as if he thought the retrieving of Kaede had taken longer than it had needed to. His employer's eyes had reverted back to their original color, Kakashi noticed as the Uchiha's eyes darted to Kaede.

"She's the one who spied on us?"

Kakashi nodded, keeping his grip on the maid's shoulder firm. When he noticed Kaede glaring at Sasuke he sighed. "Kaede, stop being childish and let me explain."

"Kill her, Kakashi." Both he and Kaede froze at that command, their eyes locking on Sasuke.

"Kill her?" He repeated almost in disbelief, "What are you saying? She's just a kid. She doesn't even know what going on."

The Uchiha's face darkened, "I don't care, she has been plotting against me for the last _week_! First she tries to interfere when I'm with Hinata, then she goes off and starts delivering letters for her, and now this?" He paused to gesture toward the maid, she was glaring daggers at him, "I think its clear where her loyalties lie now." Sasuke took a step closer to them and the maid flinched in Kakashi's grip.

Kakashi moved to stand in front of her, "Don't you think you're overreacting? We could just lock her in a room until after the ceremony is complete, we don't have to kill her." To his surprise, the maid didn't try to run away. Instead she moved closer to his backside as if it would be safer there.

"Move, Kakashi."

"If you keep acting like this, you'll have no one left beside you. Even if Miss Hinata has been consorting with someone else, your reaction earlier was over the top, don't you think? There was no need to lock her up, it wasn't like she was going to run off. Is it that you're-?"

"Kakashi, I told you to move!"

The gray haired man shook his head, "I promised Kaede that **we** wouldn't hurt her," He held his ground as the young Uchiha glared at him, "And I intend to keep that promise."

For a moment they just glared at each other, as if daring the other to move. Finally Sasuke grumbled and turned to walk upstairs.

"Fine! You're in charge of her." The door slammed shut behind the young man and Kakashi could feel Kaede relaxing beside him.

"I never realized it before," Kaede said cheerfully as she wandered from his side to look around, "But you're kind of cool Kakashi." He kept his eye on the door; the young man usually wouldn't give in to a challenge. Was Sasuke up to something?

"What is all this stuff anyway?" The maid asked as she picked up a tome that was sitting on a nearby table. As she flipped through the pages, Kakashi walked over to join her.

He placed a hand on her wrist to make her put the book back down, "You do realize that you're in hot water, right?" Kaede rolled her eyes.

"Of course, but I'd rather not dwell on how much my employer wants to kill me." She pulled her hand from his grip and pointed at him, "And I thought you said that you weren't going to tell Sasuke about the letter!"

Kakashi paused before answering, "I didn't tell him. He found out on his own."

She blinked, but didn't say anything. Instead she started messing with a knife that was lying on the table. There was an awkward mood hanging around them until she coughed, "Er, thanks for, uh, helping me. I appreciate it." Her tone caught his attention and he looked over at the maid.

"You still plan to help Hinata, don't you?" When she didn't reply he sighed, "Tsunade is right, you know. You work for the Uchiha, so why are you doing this?"

Kaede chuckled humorlessly, turning to lean against the table, "That's what I've been wondering. Originally I thought that I was doing it because that kid needed all the help she could get. She's absolutely hopeless, dopey, meek, _useless_, a total wuss, etcetera and so on. But… now I think that I'm helping her because she's like me when I was a kid." She smiled thoughtfully, her expression softening.

He blinked and tried to imagine Kaede as sweet as Hinata. Kakashi started laughing hysterically, he could hear her barking profanities at him but he didn't care. That mental image was too unbelievable!

"It's not that funny!" Kaede yelled, her face turning red at his reaction, "I'm being serious!"

When he eventually stopped laughing, he noticed her sour expression. They were still co-workers, regardless of how she was acting now. Kakashi still hadn't explained what they were up to, no wonder she was against it. Kaede had probably misunderstood their plans, he decided. Kakashi looked up at the domed ceiling.

"You've heard the legend of this island, right?" He asked, keeping his gaze pointing away.

Kaede glanced at him, "The one about the tengu? Of course I've heard it, who hasn't?"

"I thought so, then you've probably also," Kakashi looked over at her, "heard the rumors in the village, right? About how the Uchiha are descendents of that tengu?"

Her face was carefully blank, "I overheard some of the older folks talking about that. What about it?" Before he could reply she held up a hand, "Wait, let me guess: it's true? I thought it was a load of crap but..." Her eyes became distant, "The farts in town said that the Uchiha's eyes were sealed to block their powers and that was why they were black. When his eyes were red earlier, those were his actual _eyes_ weren't they?"

Kakashi blinked in surprise, "You're pretty sharp."

"Thanks." Kaede grinned at him, her expression soured after a short pause. "Guess this means I'm fired, huh? For openly siding with Hinata?"

"Probably. But it's still not too late." Kaede gave him a pointed glare, "No, really, you don't have to lose it. Listen, I think you have the whole situation wrong." She crossed her arms and looked as if she was daring him to change her mind.

0o0

'_The dark haired girl was led to the tengu's castle on the mountain, her expression resigned to her fate.' The female puppet looked back down toward the village, clearly wishing to go home. The children gathered around the stand were enraptured by this point, hanging on to the old woman's words faithfully as she continued._

'_At the tengu's castle she was given a room deep within its walls, where no sun reached her, for the tengu had a fear of her trying to escape. As the days passed, the girl sunk into despair. She took a sullen habit of staring blankly into space whenever anyone came into the room, and that included the infatuated tengu.' The dark haired puppet stared off stage as the monster puppet danced around her, trying to get her attention._

'_He fretted about it, wondering why she was so depressed when he was so pleased that she was there. Desperate to see her smile, one morning he took her by the hand and began leading her around his home. Her eyes remained unfocused until they reached the outside.' The dark haired puppet slowed her pace noticeably, her vacant gaze examining the foliage around them. The male puppet seemed to notice her shift in attention and stopped to let her look around the garden on her own._

'_She wandered away from him slowly, losing herself in the flowers and bushes, until she found herself under the shadow of the wall surrounding the castle.' A long piece of paper, decorated with dragons and clouds, was lifted into place on the stage. The puppet examined it for a moment, and moved to sit on a bench just out of reach of the shadows._

'_Now alone, she rested her head in her hands to weep for the first time since being brought to the tengu's lair. Why was it her that was cursed so? Why did that tengu choose her to marry, she wondered. _

'_Unbeknownst to her, someone heard her sobs beyond the fence and came to investigate.'_

_A small wisp of smoke came over the top of the barrier, and slowly a pair of bright yellow eyes stared down at the hunched puppet below. Some of the children leaned forward as the old woman continued._

'_Shīzi Liú, a fire spirit that lived on another island, had heard of the tengu's betrothal and had come to congratulate him for his good fortune. But that sentiment quickly disappeared from his mind when he saw the beautiful girl's tears. Feeling pity for the poor child, he leapt over the top of the wall to speak with her.' The yellow eyes lowered and the piece of paper acting as a barrier was removed. _

_Held up by thin strings, the lion puppet had a mane of bright blue that was patterned like fire. The bright material was sewed so that it gently flowed from its neck as if it was apart of its own flesh. The tip of its long tail was gray and swirled as it was smoke, the fabric delicately sewed to not reveal the stitches that held it in that position. Unlike the other puppets, it was in good condition, with only a few smudges of dirt on one side._

''_Why do you cry?' The fire spirit asked the girl, 'You are to be wed soon, but your tears are not joyful.' _

_The doll-like puppet looked up at him and then gestured around her, 'I am being forced to marry that tengu, they didn't even ask me if I wanted this. How could I ever be happy when my life is being directed for me?' It hunched back over as if it was overcome with grief again._

_The lion puppet moved closer to the girl._

''_You do not have to go through with this,' He said to her, 'You could always run away.' _

'_She shook her head, 'How do you expect me to do that when that is in the way?' She pointed to the large wall, 'Besides, my room is in the middle of the castle and they're always monitoring me!' _

'_Shīzi Liú looked into her eyes, his determination sparking in their golden hue, 'If you wish it, I will assist you. But only if you truly desire to escape this fate, but if you go along with my plan you cannot go home. Your future would be uncertain from that point, but I will try to help you in any way I can. Knowing you will never see your family again, do you still want to go?' The maiden stared at him for a moment before nodding._

''_Anything is better than being than being the prisoner of my own 'fiancé'.' She said bitterly, 'Besides, my father gladly gave me away. He won't miss me…' _

0o0

Kaede fell silent near the end of Kakashi's tale. Her eyes darted to the floor. That was what this was all about?

"Sasuke only wants to rebuild his clan, and with his past Hinata is probably the only person who could really understand him. I'm sure she'd come to love him soon."

_But at what cost_, Kaede thought bitterly. She did feel pity for her employer, but what he was doing could hurt a lot of people! Kakashi must have known that, but he was a loyal servant. He would do whatever his master asked him to, no matter how he felt about it.

But Kaede wasn't like that. She wasn't bound to Sasuke's will. This was probably more than she could handle, but she wouldn't let them use Hinata like that!

"You know, I think I get it now." Kaede said slowly, formulating a plan as she smiled at the gray haired man, "You're right, what he's doing is for the best after all. I shouldn't have judged you guys so quickly, huh?"

He seemed relieved, "I'm glad. The truth is, you've always felt like a bit of a kid sister to me," Kaede wasn't sure how to feel about that, flattered, guilty, or irritated, "So I would hate if I had to kill you."

Was that a threat, did he know that she was lying? After examining his expression she concluded that wasn't the case. He told her about his red eye, how it was draining him and dulling his thought process. He had yet to put the patch back on which normally put it into a dormant state. She was lucky, otherwise he might be suspecting her sincerity right now. The only reason he told her so much was probably because of the eye's effect on him.

Kaede gestured to the door, "We should probably find Sasuke, I need to apologize to him." Kakashi nodded and stood, walking away from her. While he had his back turned she picked up a chair that was beside one of the tables and crept up behind him. For a moment, Kaede felt bad for taking advantage of Kakashi's weakness.

But _only_ for a moment.

He grunted as the wooden chair connected with the back of his head, collapsing on the floor. The chair clattered against the floor as she jumped over his body, sprinting for the door. Kakashi may be dim-witted right now, but he was still made of tough stuff and she had no doubt that he'd be back on his feet soon.

She had to get upstairs and get Hinata out of this madhouse. They couldn't be allowed to complete the ritual, if they did then Hinata would—

There was already someone on the bottom of the cellar steps as she reached them and before she could come to a stop the person grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. For a moment, time stopped and she found herself staring into the black eyes of Sasuke. Time caught back up and she felt her legs buckle underneath her and her body collapsed onto the floor. A sharp pain in her abdomen caught her attention and as the male stepped over her she felt her stomach. Why was her hand sticky?

Her mind swam and she felt the world spin as the Uchiha picked her body up, tucking her under his arm. He carried her back into the large chamber and she heard him scoff.

"Idiot, how could you have let her take advantage of you like that? Put your patch back on, you're useless when you're like that." Kaede saw Kakashi out of the corner of her eye. As the man, still obviously winded from her earlier assault, strapped his eye patch into place he looked over at her.

"Why isn't she saying anything? She's alive, right?" He still seemed to be mentally exhausted as his face betrayed his confusion. Normally he'd be much more cunning and stoic.

Sasuke walked over to the wall and set her body down so that she was sitting against it. "For now. The poison that I coated my blade with is slow but very effective on the nervous system. She should be dead soon enough, though." Kaede felt her mind floating somewhere and struggled to regain control of her thought process. Why did her body feel so heavy? Her eyelids drooped against her will, dimming her eyesight.

"Come on, Kakashi. I need some sleep before tomorrow night."

The door echoed loudly in the chamber when it closed, almost as if it was mocking Kaede's silence. She had to get out of here, had to warn Hinata. Slowly she moved her arm, and much to her displeasure she toppled over to lie on the floor. She refused to die like this!

It felt like hours as she summoned the will to crawl across the floor, inch by inch, the exit wavering in her line of sight.

Her mind drifted again, wondering what she'd do after they escaped the island. Maybe she'd become a waitress at an inn? That might be fun, kicking out drunk old men, serving cute travelers, heck, maybe she could even snag a husband. Kaede giggled, but it sounded strange to her ears, slightly muffled. Rough, even. It might have been a result of the bleeding wound, or maybe it was that poison Sasuke had been talking about…

Yeah, that kind of life would be fun… Fun…

* * *

A.N./ And somehow, now Hinata is now the person missing-in-action. Alright, I promise there will be fluff next chapter! This got too long to stick it in.

Gah, this is so depressing now!

The lovely Hinata6Uchiha and Tako-Hasu-Hinata from dA have been pre-reading the last few chapters for me and it's thanks to them for keeping my morale up for posting chapters online. Special thanks also to Tako for pointing out several things in this chapter to help keep Hitsugaya in character. Thanks so much you two, and also to all the reviewers for their encouragement on this crazy, depressing story.


	8. Cryptic Lights

**Background Noise**

A.N./ Alright, **Echo Uchiha** pointed out that ch.6 was in all bold… Why? I swear, it was not like that before I posted that chapter. I guess there was some kind of bug that made it like that but all the italicized stuff is still in there so I guess it's okay. O.o; I hope it doesn't happen again, though… The day I uploaded that chapter was when we had that login error, now that I think about it. I guess it affected the chapter or something. Weird.

Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing **Echo Uchiha, otakuxfanxgirl, Hinata6, **and** evilbananalol.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

* * *

The sun was barely on the horizon as the ferryman handed the letter over; still unsure if the woman had been telling the truth about her being the one who had to retrieve the letter from him. He had thought the irritating maid was going to be the one to pick it up. He shrugged to himself as the blond woman walked away from the docks. Oh well, it didn't have anything to do with him anymore.

He was on his way back to the mainland when he remembered that he had wanted to tell her to recommend his services to the Hyuuga for future use. Didn't matter though, she'd be riding back home on his boat soon enough and then he could make a move. He chuckled as he steered his vessel out of the way of an old, underwater mast that just barely breached the surface of the water. 

8 

Hitsugaya followed the tunnel, walking calmly through the mostly straight cavern. Actually, it felt like it was rising gently but that could have been his imagination. He'd been walking for at least an hour, was there an end to it?

After what felt like another ten minutes of walking he noticed another wall ahead. Unlike the previous hidden door, this one actually had a knob on his side. Whoever had been using that room intended to have easy access to it. He walked through the door, his vision blocked for a moment before he passed all the way through.

The room he was in now was large and had a circular shape. Strangely, it dipped toward the center, a swirled pattern stretching toward the walls. The ceiling had no decorations except for a few bronze candelabra that swung lightly in an invisible breeze. The light that spilled from them was weak, creating long, dark shadows that covered half the room. The candles on them, unlike the ones he encountered earlier, were melting, leaving long rivers of wax down their sides.

Like the small, hidden room he had found a few hours previous, there were several bookshelves crammed with documents and textbooks. A few tables and chairs littered around the circular room, some empty and others holding books or equipment. He was about to take a closer look at an open book near him when he spotted something lying on the floor.

The fact that the person had black hair calmed him for a moment; Hitsugaya shrugged off the foreign emotion and crossed to it. A puddle of blood surrounding the body suggested that their death wasn't innocent in the least. He was about to bend over to get a closer look but he noticed something odd.

The body was surrounded by a milky white mist, it slowly drifted away to a spot several feet away and started swirling around gently. As it continued to pull away from its source, the swirling mass slowly became denser and began to become more compact. When the tail end of the mist joined the circulation it began to glow.

A loud snapping noise hit his eardrum as the glow became unbearable. He looked away and squinting his eyes he reached back to grab Hyourinmaru's hilt. But when the light dimmed, instead of a mass of white there was a girl standing there. She had black hair that reached past her shoulders that flowed loosely around her neck. The white dress she was wearing reached her knees. Her dark eyes fluttered open slowly and stared blankly at the wall next to her for a moment.

Hitsugaya lowered his hand from his zanpakto and inched toward her. The movement caught the girl's attention and her head turned in his direction.

"Hey, kid, how did you get in here?" She asked him, bending over to look at him. The captain felt something in the back of his mind snap.

"I am not a kid." He grumbled, glaring at the taller girl. She was at least an inch taller than Hinata had been, he noted.

"Yeah, and I'm not a maid." She placed a hand on his head and began messing with his hair, "Please tell me you're not related to Kakashi. With that hair you could be his nephew! What's with your outfit anyway?" Hitsugaya was tempted to slap her hand away but resisted the urge.

He turned his attention back to the girl when his anger simmered down, Hinata had said that she'd never seen a spirit before but what else could this girl be? When he looked over at the body near them he had a gut instinct that this was the soul of the corpse he'd just found. But why didn't she have a chain of fate? In the living world, a soul that didn't have one became a hollow when it was gone, but nothing was happening to the girl next to him.

"I'm Kaede," She introduced herself, finally taking her hand off his head. Kaede paused as if to wait for him to tell her his name.

Instead of answering her silent question he asked his own, "What's the last thing you remember?"

She blinked, "Huh? What a weird question," Kaede opened her mouth to say something but paused, "Um, I was… Was… um." Her eyes searched the floor as if that would entice her mind to give up her last memories. Hitsugaya saw her body stiffen when her eyes spotted the puddle of blood. Kaede stared at her body, her face becoming deathly pale. "Sasuke…" She looked down at herself, pulling at the dress she was wearing.

"What the hell am I wearing?" Kaede shrieked, she turned her attention back the shinigami, "Don't tell me that pervert Kakashi infected you? How could he do that to such a young boy? How old are you, 12, 13? You should know better!"

His patience finally snapped at that comment, "I'm not a kid! And I didn't change your clothes!"

Kaede opened her mouth to probably shoot back a snarky comment but Hitsugaya held up a hand, "Wait, this is getting out of hand. You were wearing those clothes when you materialized, understand? I had nothing to do with it." The confusion on her face spoke volumes, "Before you say anything, you're dead. And since you said Sasuke's name, I guess he has something to do with it? Am I right?"

"Dead?" She scoffed. Her face was anything but mocking, "That's ridiculous…" Kaede's eyes were drawn back to the corpse lying on the floor next to her. Her face became horrified and she looked away from it quickly.

"I know this is difficult for you, but you have to tell me what happened. Did Sasuke have something to do with this?" The captain said as gently as her could.

Hitsugaya waited for her to get her composure again. Her eyes were pained as she exhaled slowly, "…Sasuke stabbed me. He didn't want me to warn Hinata about what he and Kakashi are going to do at sunset." That caught Hitsugaya's attention immediately.

"What are they going to do?"

Kaede paused before sighing again, "Look, there's no fast way to explain everything, so I'll try to give you nothing but the dirt, okay? The Uchiha are descendents of this tengu from an old legend that originates on this island. And according to Kakashi, Sasuke is…is…" The girl trailed off slowly, her eyes widening fearfully. Hitsugaya stared at Kaede, wondering why she was acting strange. Her gaze was stuck on a spot behind him but when he looked there was nothing out of the ordinary there.

"Kaede? What's wrong?" It was after he asked that question when he felt it, a surge of spiritual pressure spiking near him to his right. The captain spun toward the source, reaching up to pull Hyourinmaru from its sheath. There wasn't anything there, just open air, but he could definitely feel the energy growing in power in that spot. For a bated moment, the two watched and waited for something to happen.

When something finally did, he almost didn't know what to describe it as. It sounded like something ripped and suddenly a curved weapon materialized in mid air. The sharp edge hung there for a moment before slicing downwards through the air, a hole ripping into existence behind it. The hole the weapon was creating was glowing, so when something moved in front of it from the other side, it made the figure a black silhouette.

Hitsugaya tensed as the spiritual energy he had felt flowed into the room from the rip in front of him. The source was likely the figure inside the hole, but what was it? The opening of space it was doing reminded him of the Hollow's technique they used to reach the living world. The person on the other side of the hole pushed the weapon it was holding downwards so that the hole it was making reached the floor. When it pushed through into the room, Hitsugaya identified its weapon as a scythe. Kaede was holding her breath beside him, not moving at all. As if it had been waiting, the hole slowly zipped closed behind the figure, cutting off the light.

Now that it was no longer overshadowed by the light coming from the hole, Hitsugaya could examine the person. The person was wearing a long, flowing black cloak. Its hood hung over their face, shielding their identity; the cloak was tattered and worn in several places.

The captain kept his guard up, what was this person? "Who are you?" The cloaked figure ignored him, turning its head to look at the girl standing beside him.

"Fujiwara Kaede. I am here to escort you." The person, a man if his voice was any indication of his gender, began to cross the room to join them.

The former maid backed up a step, "H-Hold it, how do you know my name?" The black cloaked male didn't answer her, his scythe gleaming dimly in the light of the room.

Hitsugaya stepped in between the two when the stranger got closer. He was about to repeat his earlier question but now that he was closer, he could see under the hood of the cloaked man. A skull's hollow eyes stared back at him. Hitsugaya reacted instinctively, slashing his zanpakto at the cloaked figure's head.

It moved backwards, lifting its scythe to defend itself. But the tip of Hyourinmaru's blade cut open the hood near the front, causing it to slip to its shoulders to reveal its face.

A skull with blank, hollow sockets stared at them. Black tattoos were inscribed on the crown of its head in swirling insignias which trailed down the sides of the skull head almost like hair.

"What the hell _is_ that?" Kaede yelped, retreating to a spot two feet away from them. Hitsugaya kept his eyes trained on the strange creature, was it a hollow? No, its spiritual pressure didn't feel like one, but what was it then? And what did it want with Kaede? Why had she felt its presence before him?

The skull sighed, its jaw opening slightly in the process. A hazy, black mist swirled inside its mouth as it did so. A little bit escaped through the bottom of its jaw when it closed again. It lifted its scythe to point at him.

"Is this how reapers from your world treat each other?" Hitsugaya, despite himself, felt his eyes widen. "This is my district and all souls from here are my responsibility to collect." While it spoke, more of the black haze spilled from over its teeth, dissipating as it curled away from the skeleton.

Hitsugaya stared at the skeleton momentarily, "You're a shinigami?"

The skeleton paused, "Yes and no. Similar we are, yet not the same. You are a soul that is trained to harness your abilities to fight altered souls and to pass on the dead. I am but an instrument assigned to escort them. Your duty will end with death, mine will never end. Do you understand?"

The captain regained control of his shock and examined the skeleton. If that was true, then this thing was a reaper. If not, then this was just a trick to make him let his guard down. But it hadn't attacked either one of them; it had immediately focused on Kaede. A hollow would have attacked him first, more than likely. It had even called Kaede by name.

He had to remind himself that this world wasn't the same as his. Souls didn't have a chain of fate here, so they probably didn't even have hollows in this world. They didn't even materialize the same way. Keeping these facts in mind, he lowered Hyourinmaru slightly so that the tip of the blade was pointed away from the walking skeleton. But he wasn't about to sheathe it either.

"Your story seems valid." Hitsugaya concluded, the skeleton's head turned to look at the sword in his hand.

"I understand your hesitation." The supposed reaper said before walking towards them again. Kaede started backing up again, clearly not liking where the situation was going. She stepped over her own body but didn't notice, her attention focused on the skeleton closing in on her. Hitsugaya let it walk past him, keeping his eye on them in case it had been lying after all.

"Uh, kid, Mr. Bones is really creepy- Why are you just standing there?" Her voice was half panicked as she backed into the wall. When it reached her, it lifted its scythe up and Hitsugaya tensed. The skeleton just turned the weapon in its hand so the flat side faced Kaede and almost immediately she calmed, her eyes becoming hazy and dim. She looked like she was hypnotized.

"What did you do?" Hitsugaya asked, suspicious of the reapers actions. Its skull turned to look at him.

"Don't become so agitated. She's just under a small trance to keep her calm while I escort her. I would normally not have to use this, but thanks to _you_ I have no other choice." The skeleton swung the scythe at the space next to it, ripping open a new hole.

Silently, Kaede walked to the void but before she crossed into the alternate space, she looked over at him. Her eyes were still dark as she pointed at the only visible exit to the large room. "Go through that door into the cellar, then go up the stairs and you'll be in a hallway. Go to your right all the way and you'll reach the main room, there is a grand staircase there.

"Go all the way up to the landing and go left on it. Keep going down that hall until you reach another set of stairs and go up. You'll pass two more hallways then go down the third to the right. Hinata's room is the second on the right side."

_Why is she telling me this? _Hitsugaya wondered. Kaede smiled softly at his surprised expression. "I only met you two minutes ago and I know I shouldn't ask you this, but could you help Hinata get out of here, please? That dumb girl has no idea what's going on and if you don't help her, no one else will."

Without waiting for an answer Kaede disappeared inside the hole, the skeleton reaper close behind her. As it zipped close behind the two, the skeleton turned to face Hitsugaya.

"A word of warning," It hissed, a black mist trailed out of its open jaw as it spoke, "Do not get in the way of my duties again, interloper, or I'll kill you."

The captain scowled as the hole sealed completely, he watched the spot for a moment before turning to look at the door Kaede had pointed to. She had said that Sasuke was going to do something at sunset. Damn, if he hadn't got caught up with her rude comments then he would have been able to find out more. Even just one minute would have made a large difference.

He recalled the storybook he had been at a few hours ago, Kaede had mentioned that the Uchiha were descendants of a tengu from a legend… was it possible that book was about the legend she was talking about?

Hitsugaya quickly skimmed the bindings of the books on the shelves, most were about mathematics and different sciences. He noted a few astronomy textbooks as well but didn't give them as much attention.

After looking around the room, Hitsugaya still didn't see anything that would enlighten him on what Kaede had been talking about and turned to leave. But something was bothering him, the more he investigated, the more he felt as if he had been here before.

That was ridiculous; he'd never even been in the Uchiha mansion before, much less in this room. He still needed to find out how he got to this world, but the fact that he had felt déjà vu couldn't be a coincidence. He wasn't the type to imagine things like that.

Hitsugaya returned to the shelves, determined to keep looking until he either disproved or validated Sasuke's involvement in his appearance here. Hinata would be fine for now; it was still early in the morning, if his internal time was correct.

He was standing by one of the tables when he spotted something lying on top of one of the bookshelves. Hitsugaya grabbed a chair and crossed to the shelf, setting the chair next to it so he could use it to stand on. Even then he couldn't quite see over the top of the shelf. He reached up and began to feel along the dusty top, his fingers searching for the object he had seen earlier.

After a moment his fingers felt paper and he grabbed onto it.

"A scroll?" He mumbled, eyeing the rolled up parchment. Unlike his sleeve, it didn't have a speck of dust on it. Hitsugaya got off the chair to set the scroll down on one of the tables to undo the red string holding it together.

He rolled the paper out gently, his eyes running over what was on it. There were a few illustrations and diagrams inscribed on it, followed by instructions and equations. The captain's eyes skimmed it, wondering what they were instructions for.

_-The pinnacle of the moon's crest on the Red Night awakens the hauchiwa, the ritual must be activated during this time otherwise losing the opportunity for a year- A variety of ways to perform, such as an incision along the abdomen, use of an enchanted blade, or using a special concoction on the subject's body- better to use a spell on the subject to keep them from escaping before the Red Moon. Can be altered as the user sees fit to do so- the gathering of the energy prior to the ritual is essential, a sufficient source is necessary and can be acquired several ways, the transfusion of particles into an absorbable form, the collection of particles into a reduced substance, or the direct consumption of this energy._

Along the bottom of the scroll someone else had gone in with a pen to scribble notes down. Hitsugaya caught Hinata's name in them and slowed his eyes to read them.

_-The circular shape and design of the room can help channel them here, must not forget to prepare the equipment beforehand to properly seize them for conversion. A loose shinigami could cause problems. Change the procedure for retaining the fan, simply using the mirror blade with the potion should extract the hauchiwa from Hinata's soul since she is only half blooded. This should not endanger her life but normal precautions should be taken._

Hitsugaya reread the short paragraph and went back to the sections on the scroll he had read before. The whole thing was a manual on how to remove a seal of some kind. But it kept referring to a hauchiwa, a tengu's fan.

'_The Uchiha are descendents of this tengu from an old legend that originates on this island!' _

Hitsugaya scowled at the parchment as he skimmed the instructions again. In the note it had mentioned channeling something here and added in shinigami as well. If his hunch was right, Sasuke was the one who brought him to this world. But why? Other than telling how to perform the ritual to retrieve the hauchiwa, there was little else on the scroll that offered clues.

And what did it mean by extracting the hauchiwa from Hinata? What did she have to do with this? It said that she was 'half blooded' in the note too. There were more questions now then he had before reading this.

Hitsugaya looked at the exit. The scroll was a set of instructions on how to get the hauchiwa out of a body, but that didn't make sense. The hauchiwa was made of feathers or leaves. He wished he had been able to finish his conversation with Kaede, she might have known more about this.

The scroll had no more answers to offer him so he set it to the side and left the large chamber. Hinata was the target of this so called 'ritual', if he got her out of Sasuke's reach then he could prevent it from taking place. Maybe get some answers on how he got here, and more importantly, how to get back to his world while he was at it.

-V-

Hinata heard someone knock on the door, her eyes opened slowly as it was creaked open. The sun was barely up and already Kaede was rousing her? Usually the maid waited until the cook began working on breakfast. He was probably not even up yet, much less cooking!

To her surprise, Tsunade walked into the room. The Hyuuga sat up quickly, somehow knowing the woman wouldn't put up with her groggy-in-the-morning routine like Kaede had.

"Good morning, Miss Hinata." Tsunade greeted, something seemed off about the blond woman but the Hyuuga couldn't put her finger on why.

The blond was unusually solemn, Hinata considered asking her if she was alright but when Tsunade pulled an envelope out of her pocket she forgot all about the woman's strange behavior. She held the envelope at an angle so that the heiress could see that it was for her. Was that the reply letter from Chitose?

"I picked it up from the ferryman," Tsunade explained as Hinata gently took it from her, "I hope whatever answer you got was worth the results."

Hinata looked up at the blond, confusion in her lavender eyes, "Results?" Tsunade's face darkened but instead of answering she left the room quickly, noisily locking the door behind her.

The Hyuuga blinked, looking at the door warily. Why was Tsunade so irritated, better yet how did she even know about the letter? Kaede never said anything about being caught last night, and when Hinata had asked the maid only said that she had delivered it. Hinata decided to ask Kaede later about this as she opened the envelope. The letter inside slipped out easily and she went to sit by the window to read it.

_-Dear Miss Hyuuga-_

_It is my regret to inform you that the person with whom you were trying to get into contact with is no longer at my establishment. Soon after you departed, Teshigahara Chitose came to the lobby with her baggage, checked out, and quickly left. On her way out she told me that she was going back to the Hyuuga estate._

_I assumed that you knew this already, my apologies for your confusion. I did not read the letter you sent her and burned it promptly upon its arrival to prevent your privacy from the overly curious. I hope that this does not inconvenience you. _

_I wish you the very best of health and to always know that the roof of my inn would gladly shelter you from the worst of weather. _

_Sincerely- _

_Innkeeper of the Black Swan, __Otsuka Hochū-_

Hinata stared at the letter, rereading it several times in her mind. It felt like everything had frozen as she tried to make sense out of it. Chitose went back home? Then…she had…

'_Is that what you think? That we aren't already engaged? Your father and I have been planning your trip here for about a year!' _Sasuke's laugh rang in her ears and she felt her fingers begin to tremble.

She had written the letter to get the truth straight from Chitose. Hinata curled her legs to her chest, trying to fight back the sadness eating away at her. But it seemed that, as always, actions spoke louder than words.

By the time Tsunade came back to escort her downstairs for breakfast, Hinata had already gotten dressed and had managed to stifle the worst of her lackluster misery. She dutifully let herself be led to the dining room, and as she ate breakfast alone Hinata let the letter's words wash through her mind again.

Hinata sighed, weren't vacations supposed to be relaxing? It was better than being home, even if she was locked in her room like her prisoner most of the time.

"Where's Kaede?" Hinata asked Kakashi after breakfast on their way out of the dining room.

"Tsunade had her wash the floors last night; last I checked she was still asleep, she was up pretty late last night so I didn't see the point of getting her up just for her to fall asleep while she worked." He answered coolly. Kakashi didn't look at her, keeping his eyes forward.

She blinked, "Oh…" When they lapsed back into silence Kakashi raised a hand to rub the back of his neck under the scarf he was always wearing. She wondered if he didn't sleep well last night as he continued massaging the area gently.

They were walking down a corridor when she felt a cold breeze tickle her sides. Crossing her arms, Hinata sighed and bowed her head lightly. Why had she not brought a coat? Sure she wasn't outside but she should have expected a draft sooner or later. Strangely as they continued, the breeze got colder. The Hyuuga was about to mention it to Kakashi, preparing to ask him if it was always so chilly during this time of year, when out of her peripheral she saw a flash of white.

Sharp, turquoise irises met hers when she looked up. The white haired boy was standing in the hallway ahead of them, his gaze steady and unreadable.

"Hitsugaya?"

* * *

A.N./ This took awhile because I ended up having a bit of writer's block at certain parts.

Thanks to the lovely Tako-Hasu-Hinata on dA for prereading this for me. 3


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